Bush shifts focus to West Bank
Updated: 2008-01-10 11:18
Rocket fire
Bush spoke after the latest cross-border rocket fire from Gaza wounded one Israeli on Wednesday. Israel responded with a missile strike that killed one militant and two civilians in the northern Gaza Strip.
"As to the rockets, my first question is going to be to President Abbas, what do you intend to do about them?" Bush said at a joint news conference with Olmert.
US officials, however, were at a loss to explain how Abbas could extend his authority to Gaza. The coastal strip has been controlled since June by Abbas's Hamas rivals, who deny Israel's right to exist.
Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security adviser, called the situation in Gaza "pretty depressing."
In the six weeks since Bush relaunched peace talks at Annapolis, Maryland, Palestinians have accused Israel of bad faith for not halting settlement activity.
Palestinian officials said Abbas would renew complaints to Bush about Jewish settlement growth and also demand an easing of Israeli military roadblocks in the West Bank.
Bush's visit to the "muquata" compound is certain to stir memories of the late Yasser Arafat. Arafat's tomb lies on the grounds of the Ramallah complex but Bush has no plans to visit it.
Bush will also visit the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, in Bethlehem on Thursday.
Despite skepticism at home and abroad over his peace bid, Bush seems intent on using the waning months of his presidency to try to shape a foreign policy legacy not completely defined by the unpopular war in Iraq.
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