George W. Bush told Israel in blunt terms yesterday that he expected it to sign a peace treaty within the year that would create a Palestinian state and end Israel's 40-year occupation of the West Bank.
On his first US presidential visit to the Palestinian territories, Mr Bush also said President Mahmoud Abbas must do more to ensure Israel was safe from militant attack. But his use of the term "occupation" and the tight timetable he envisaged for a peace treaty marked a change in tone from Israel's main ally.
"There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967," Mr Bush said on his return to Jerusalem, referring to Israel's seizure of the West Bank.
Challenging sceptics who question his belated enthusiasm for the issue in his final year in office, Mr Bush had told a news conference in Ramallah: "I believe it's going to happen, that there will be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office."
In some of the boldest language he has used since hosting November's Annapolis summit that relaunched peace negotiations after a seven-year hiatus, Mr Bush added: "I am confident that with proper help the state of Palestine will emerge".
Preparing to head to the Gulf today, President Bush said in Jerusalem he would urge Arab states to "reach out" to Israel.
But Israel must also ensure the Palestinian state had viable borders - not a "Swiss cheese" patchwork criss-crossed as at present by Israeli security defences and Jewish settlements. At the same time, he expected Mr Abbas to stop anti-Israel militants.
Officials have said that any treaty signed by the time Mr Bush steps down next January would not lead to the immediate creation of a new state. A number of formalities would remain and Israel has made it clear it will not end its occupation of the West Bank until it is sure its own territory is safe from attack.
However, his use of the term "peace treaty" was seen by many as an indication he was not ready to settle for a vaguer "framework agreement" which Israeli and Palestinian officials have said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert thinks is feasible before Mr Bush has to step down next January.
Mr Bush accepted that he was unsure that the isolation of the Gaza Strip, a major part of any future state, could be solved within the year. Mr Abbas lost control of the enclave in June to Hamas Islamists who are fighting Israeli forces. Hamas hostility to the peace talks is a major obstacle to any peace deal.
Mr Bush said Washington stood ready to provide both political and economic backing but that Mr Abbas and Mr Olmert must "come together to make hard choices".
Speaking at the Muqata compound where the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was besieged by Israeli forces just a few years ago, Mr Arafat's successor Mr Abbas hailed Mr Bush as the first US President to commit fully to back a Palestinian state.
After meeting Mr Abbas, Mr Bush flew by helicopter to the West Bank city of Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, built over the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
There the President, a devout Christian, spoke of his hope for a divine gift of freedom for all people and an end to the walls and checkpoints that ring the Palestinian town.
Critics say Mr Bush has failed to deploy Washington's full weight in seeking to end the 60-year-old conflict during the first seven years of his presidency. Many doubt differences can be overcome now, as Mr Bush seeks to burnish his legacy in the Middle East after five years of war in Iraq.
Mr Abbas urged Mr Bush to press Israel to ease security restrictions in the occupied West Bank that Palestinians say cripple their society and economy, and halt Jewish settlement.