US/Middle East: President George Bush has rebuffed an appeal from Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas for a swift revival of peace negotiations and the rapid creation of a Palestinian state after Israel pulls out of the Gaza Strip.
On his first visit to the White House since he was elected in January, the Palestinian president yesterday told a joint press conference with Mr Bush: "It is time for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to end. Time is becoming our greatest enemy. We should end this conflict before it's too late.
"We should [ after the Gaza pull-out] immediately move to permanent status negotiations to deal with the issues of East Jerusalem, the capital of the future state of Palestine, the issue of refugees, borders and water."
Mr Bush said "a moment of hope" had been reached and "a great achievement of history is within reach: the creation of a peaceful democratic Palestinian state. I believe the Palestinian people are fully capable of justly governing themselves in peace with their neighbours.
"I believe the interests of the Israeli people would be served by a peaceful Palestinian state and I believe now is the time for all parties in this conflict to move beyond old grievances and act forcefully in the cause of peace.
"With concrete actions by the United States, the Palestinians, Israel and other nations, we can transform this opportunity into real momentum."
But while Mr Bush praised Mr Abbas as a "man of courage" and applauded his "rejection of terrorism", he signalled that, like the Israeli government, he saw no urgency to return to the US-led "road map" peace plan.
"The imminent Israeli disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank presents an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a return to the road map," he said.
Mr Bush has previously said that he envisages the creation of a Palestinian state by the time he leaves office in January 2009.
Yesterday he indicated that the Palestinian leadership would be judged by how it handled the governance of the Gaza strip after the Israeli withdrawal later this year before there would be movement on other issues.
Mr Abbas said he had told Mr Bush that the continued expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the construction of the vast steel and concrete barrier through the territory was undermining the prospects of creating a viable Palestinian state and contributing to frustration and despair among Palestinians.
"We stress that democracy cannot flourish under occupation ," Mr Abbas added.
Mr Bush called for Israel to alleviate Palestinian suffering and reminded Ariel Sharon's government of its obligations to cease the relentless expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
"Israel should not undertake any activity that contravenes road map obligations or prejudice final status negotiations with regard to Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem," the president said. "Therefore Israel must remove unauthorised outposts and stop settlement expansion.
"The barrier being erected by Israel as part of its security effort must be a security rather than a political barrier and its route should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities."
Mr Bush has given similar warnings in the past. They have done little to stop settlement construction.