US President George W. Bush arrived in Israel on Wednesday at the start of a Middle East visit he hopes will put Israelis and Palestinians on course for a peace agreement within a year.
Air Force One landed at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport, where President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other Israeli officials waited to greet Mr Bush, seen by many Israelis as the best friend the state has had in the White House.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed last night to begin tackling the core issues of a final peace agreement in a last-minute push to breathe life into stalled negotiations.
The renewed peace talks, formally launched at a US-hosted conference in November, are a centrepiece of Mr Bush's agenda in his last year of office. But negotiations have made little headway, marred by Israeli building plans in disputed territory and Palestinian militant attacks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
US President George W Bush
"What has to happen in order for there to be a peaceful settlement of a long-standing dispute is ... outlines of a (Palestinian) state clearly defined," Mr Bush said at the White House before flying to Israel for the three-day trip.
But chances of an agreement before he leaves office in January 2009 appear slim, and no breakthroughs are expected during three days of talks following up on an international conference he hosted in Annapolis, Maryland.
However, Israeli vice premier Haim Ramon said today the sides were belatedly beginning to discuss the most contentious subjects, and that he believed Mr Bush's visit would help the sides reach an agreement.
"I am happy that we are beginning to talk on the subjects that perhaps we should have begun to talk about earlier," Mr Ramon told Army Radio. "Both sides relate to his (Mr Bush's) requests and his wishes and his visit will certainly accelerate the talks."
Israel was making the final touches on the preparations for the Bush visit, deploying about 10,000 police in Jerusalem, employing refuse collectors in the holy city and rolling out red carpets at the airport.
Aides to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert met overnight to outline Israel's "red lines" in the negotiations with the Palestinians that Mr Olmert will present to Mr Bush in their meeting later today, Army Radio reported.
At yesterday's meeting between Mr Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, the sides pledged to move beyond their recent disputes and have negotiators begin work immediately on the so-called final status issues. These issues include the final borders between Israel and a future Palestine, completing claims to the holy city of Jerusalem, the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees and Israeli security concerns.
At Annapolis, Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas pledged to begin work immediately on the big issues, but negotiations have hit a number of snags.
The Palestinians are furious about Israeli plans to build new housing in east Jerusalem and the West Bank - areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war and claimed by the Palestinians for their future state. Israel, for its part, has demanded that Palestinian forces do more to rein in militants in the West Bank.
Since Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas last met, two Israelis were killed in the West Bank, and Israeli security forces say members of Mr Abbas' Fatah movement were responsible.
The US-backed "road map" peace plan requires Israel to freeze settlement construction and the Palestinians to crack down on militants.
Agencies