Published: May 14, 2008 07:08 am         

Bush opens Mideast trip to mark Israel’s anniversary

JERUSALEM — President Bush on Wednesday opened a celebratory visit to Israel where he’ll make a new push for peace in the long-troubled Middle East. “We consider the Holy Land a very special place, and we consider the Israeli people our close friends,” Bush said.

The president arrived in Tel Aviv, then flew by helicopter to Jerusalem for events Wednesday and Thursday marking the 60th anniversary of Israel’s birth in the wake of the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews.

“Our two nations both faced great challenges when they were founded,” he said. “And our two nations have both relied on the same principles to help us succeed. We built strong democracies to protect the freedoms given to us by an almighty God. ... and we built an enduring alliance to confront terrorists and tyrants.”

First on his itinerary were meetings with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who greeted he and first lady Laura Bush at Ben Gurion International Airport. Bush reached in to give a hug to Olmert, the target of a corruption probe.

Olmert, the subject of a campaign finance investigation that could push him from office, gave assurances to a senior U.S. official as Bush arrived in Israel. “Holding on, holding on, don’t worry,” Olmert told Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, at the airport. The remarks were picked up by broadcasters’ microphones.

Bush received congratulations on last Saturday’s wedding of his daughter Jenna and called himself “father of the bride.” He posed for pictures with his wife Laura and an Israeli official and commented that she was “a rose between two thorns.”

Bush, who also visited Israel in January, is set to speak Wednesday night at a conference in Jerusalem celebrating Israel’s 60th anniversary. The conference, convened by Peres, includes international figures like former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and an array of Jewish Nobel laureates, including writer and Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel.

Both Peres and Olmert thanked Bush as Israel’s ally like no other.

“Mr. President, you stood like nobody else on our side in sunny mornings and stormy weather,” Peres said. “Your presence here permits us something that we really wanted to do, and that is to celebrate a real thanksgiving party to the United States from the depth of our heart.”

Olmert underscored the strength of the U.S.-Israeli relations.

“Throughout the years, the strategic alliance with America has become one of the fundamental pillars of our national security. The bond between our people has grown deeper and stronger with time,” Olmert said. “America has been there at each and every important crossroad in the life of our young country and stood by us in times of hope and moments of crisis.”

The Palestinians are marking a different sort of 60th anniversary, that which they call the “nakba,” or catastrophe, the word they use to describe Israel’s establishment which resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Israel has imposed a closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip during Bush’s visit, preventing Palestinians from entering the country. Normally, tens of thousands of Palestinians are permitted into Israel each day for work, health care and family visits.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Hadley suggested that Bush might acknowledge the Palestinian view of the milestone when marking the Jewish state’s birthday. “We are going to Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, and that is a great event,” he said. “We also recognize that resulted in hardship for many Palestinian people.”

Bush has expressed some optimism that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement would be struck before his term ends while holding out little hope for a major breakthrough during this trip. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that reaching such a deal within the next eight months “might be improbable but it’s not impossible.”

Just hours before Bush arrived, however, an Israeli official said the Housing and Construction minister was planning to approve the construction of hundreds of homes in West Bank settlements. In the talks, the Palestinians demand that Israel stop building in areas they want for a future state.

At the Qalandia military checkpoint next to Jerusalem, a few dozen Palestinians threw stones at Israeli police. Police said they responded with riot control tactics, and the force was seen firing tear gas at the crowd.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, soldiers flung tear gas to disperse a small crowd of protesters approaching an Israeli checkpoint on the town’s edge.

In the Gaza Strip, the ruling Hamas militant group, which the U.S. and Israel consider a terrorist group, called the Bush visit a “bad omen.”

“No greetings to you, Bush, on our holy land,” said Hamas strongman Mahmoud Zahar. “Your people will punish you one day.”

Ahead of the visit, three human rights sent a letter to Bush urging him to pressure Israel to lift the Gaza blockade. Israel imposed the blockade in an attempt to halt ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza at Israeli towns, but the groups said the move is collective punishment that is harming Palestinian civilians.

After Israel, Bush will go to Saudi Arabia where he promises to press King Abdullah to increase oil production to ease soaring costs on consumers. Bush made a similar plea in January but it was ignored.

The president’s final stop will be at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he will meet over two days with a handful of leaders: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Iraqi leaders. Bush also is scheduled to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, but that is in doubt now after clashes between the U.S.-backed government in Beirut and Hezbollah-led opposition.

While the president is in the Middle East this week, Bush administration officials plan to work during U. N. Security Council meetings to rally other countries to support Lebanon’s U.S.-backed government and to condemn Iran and Syria, which the White House believes are behind the recent clashes. “Obviously, we are also going to talk to various countries about additional pressure that can be put on Syria and Iran,” Hadley said.