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Bush ends visit to region optimistic about peace in 2008
Ma'an US President George W. Bush completes his three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Friday, during which he said he believed a peace deal would be completed by the end of 2008. In a statement on Thursday evening he called on Israel to stop occupying some Palestinian territory and also suggested compensation should be given to Palestinian refugees rather than them being allowed to return to their homes in what is now Israel. On the last day of his visit he visited the "Yad Vashem" Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. He will then go by helicopter to the north of Israel to visit two Christian sites overlooking Lake Tiberias. Bush will also hold a short meeting with the Middle East Quartet, Tony Blair before going to Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv for a farewell ceremony, which Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are expected to attend. During his visit Bush has held talks met with Olmert and other Israeli leaders, including Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. He also met with the sons of the former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Earlier on Thursday he was hosted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his Ramallah headquarters, before going on to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Bush will then travel to Kuwait on the second leg of his Middle Eastern tour. Posted by: Fred 2008-01-12 |
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