Like Bill, Dubya makes twilight Mideast push

WASHINGTON: George W Bush’s twilight effort to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians faces far more challenges than his predecessor Bill Clinton’s failed attempt in 2000.

In his waning months in office, Bush is trying to resolve the intractable conflict when the Palestinians are divided, Israel’s PM is unpopular and the US president’s own credibility has been eroded by the Iraq war.

Analysts said they welcomed Bush’s decision to host a conference on Tuesday in Annapolis, Maryland, that he hopes will trigger formal negotiations on creating a Palestinian state. But given the realities of weak leaders on all sides, none saw much chance of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before Bush leaves office in 2009.

“When Clinton tried ... both sides actually felt they could do it and both sides felt the other side could do it,” said an Arab diplomat. “Now, neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians believe that the other side wants to do it or can do it.”

The Palestinian leadership, and territory, is split between president Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement, which rules the West Bank, and the Islamist Hamas faction, which forcibly took control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah in July.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com