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"Some people suggest that if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of the enemies of peace, and America utterly rejects it," Bush told a special session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem.
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U.S. President George W. Bush pauses during applause in his speech to the Knesset in Jerusalem May 15, 2008. |
Pinpointing Iran, whose senior leaders have repeatedly made threatening remarks against Israel, Bush said the United States and Israel have a concerted goal of opposing Tehran's efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.
"Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations," he said. "For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
Bush blamed Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran for their stances on Israel, saying the fight against terror is the defining challenge of the time, a great ideological struggle.
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U.S. President George W. Bush (L) hugs Israeli President Shimon Peres (R) following a speech to the Knesset in Jerusalem May 15, 2008. Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik is in the foreground. |
While stressing the United States is Israel's "best friend in the world," Bush made just one mention of the Palestinians in his Knesset speech, saying that 60 years later, Israel will be celebrating its 120th anniversary, and "the Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of," which will be "a democratic state that is governed by law, respects human rights, and rejects terror."
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U.S. President George W. Bush shares a laugh with Dalia Itzik (R), speaker of the Israeli parliament, during his visit to the parliament in Jerusalem May 15, 2008. |
In their addresses, Olmert said a two-state solution to the conflicts with the Palestinians "will be approved in the Knesset by a large majority and will be supported by the vast majority of the Israeli public," while Itzik said Israel does not want to control the Palestinians.
The U.S. president is paying a three-day visit to Israel to celebrate the Jewish state's 60th anniversary of independence and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process with Israeli leaders.
After his visit to Israel, Bush will head to Egypt later this week to meet with other Mideast leaders and give another push for the sluggish peace process in the region.