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| Bush meets Abbas for peace talks | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| US President George W Bush has arrived in Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, as he continues his Middle East tour. | |
| A massive security cordon has been thrown round the city for the visit. | A massive security cordon has been thrown round the city for the visit. |
| The talks are expected to focus on the issue of Israeli settlements and the activities of Palestinian militants. | The talks are expected to focus on the issue of Israeli settlements and the activities of Palestinian militants. |
| After meeting Israeli PM Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Mr Bush said he was hopeful a peace deal could be struck during his last year in office. | After meeting Israeli PM Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Mr Bush said he was hopeful a peace deal could be struck during his last year in office. |
| Mr Bush is trying to use the regional visit to boost Israeli-Palestinian peace talks begun last year. | Mr Bush is trying to use the regional visit to boost Israeli-Palestinian peace talks begun last year. |
| Security measures | Security measures |
| Mr Bush had been due to arrive in Ramallah by helicopter, but extremely wet and foggy weather conditions forced the president to travel in a motorcade instead. | |
| As to the rockets, my first question is going to be to President Abbas, what do you intend to do about them? President Bush class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7178422.stm">Middle East tour diary class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7179370.stm">In pictures: Bush visit He was greeted on a red carpet by Mr Abbas. | |
| Mr Bush is only the second serving US president to visit the Palestinian territories. Former President Bill Clinton went there in 1998. | |
| In Ramallah, all vehicles have been banned from the roads in districts around the headquarters of Mr Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president. | |
| Snipers and thousands of other Palestinian and US security agents have flooded the area in the huge operation to safeguard the US president's security. His talks with Mr Abbas will focus at least in part on the Palestinians' ability to handle security, says the BBC's Tim Franks in Ramallah. | |
| Israel wants rocket attacks from Palestinian territories to stop. | Israel wants rocket attacks from Palestinian territories to stop. |
| Hamas excluded | Hamas excluded |
| At a joint news conference with Mr Olmert after their meeting, Mr Bush said he would be raising the issue: "As to the rockets, my first question is going to be to President Abbas, what do you intend to do about them?" | At a joint news conference with Mr Olmert after their meeting, Mr Bush said he would be raising the issue: "As to the rockets, my first question is going to be to President Abbas, what do you intend to do about them?" |
| class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7178714.stm">Massive disruption for visit class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7176143.stm">Lasting legacy? The answer may be very little, correspondents say. Mr Abbas has no control over the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by the Islamist militant group Hamas since June last year. | |
| The US considers Hamas a terrorist organisation and Mr Bush has no plans to visit Gaza. | The US considers Hamas a terrorist organisation and Mr Bush has no plans to visit Gaza. |
| For his part, Mr Abbas will want to know how far the US is willing to push its close ally Israel to fulfil its obligations not to expand settlements on occupied territory, our correspondent says. | For his part, Mr Abbas will want to know how far the US is willing to push its close ally Israel to fulfil its obligations not to expand settlements on occupied territory, our correspondent says. |
| He would also like to see an easing of Israeli military roadblocks in the West Bank. | He would also like to see an easing of Israeli military roadblocks in the West Bank. |
| Two-state solution | Two-state solution |
| After his meeting with Mr Olmert, Mr Bush said he was "very hopeful" about the prospects for peace but acknowledged that it would be "hard work". | After his meeting with Mr Olmert, Mr Bush said he was "very hopeful" about the prospects for peace but acknowledged that it would be "hard work". |
| href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_bush0s_mid_east_visit/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_bush0s_mid_east_visit/html/1.stm', '1199810527', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=500,height=400,left=312,top=100'); return false;">Israeli and Palestinian views on US leader's visit href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_bush0s_mid_east_visit/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_bush0s_mid_east_visit/html/1.stm', '1199810527', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=500,height=400,left=312,top=100'); return false;" >In pictures At a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in late November, Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas agreed to pursue a peace agreement leading to a two-state solution in 2008. | |
| Mr Bush is using his visit to push that process forward and reach agreement on a Palestinian state during his last year in office. | Mr Bush is using his visit to push that process forward and reach agreement on a Palestinian state during his last year in office. |
| Ahead of Mr Bush's visit, the Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed that negotiations would begin on the core issues separating them - the borders of a future Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and Israeli settlements.. | |