bush visit on palastinen crisis

Bush said he's "confident that with proper help, the state of Palestine will emerge."
Both Abbas and Olmert agreed to work toward such an agreement at the November 27 U.S.-sponsored peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland. On Thursday the White House announced Bush has tapped Lt. Gen. William Fraser III to help monitor progress with the road map.
Fraser is an assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, and the military adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Following his talks with Abbas, Bush traveled to the West Bank town of Bethlehem passing protest signs along the way that said, "Occupation is terrorism" and called on the United States to "stop giving aid to occupation and death to our children," according to The Associated Press. See Bush's itinerary »
Once in Bethlehem, Bush visited the Church of the Nativity, believed by many Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus. Watch Bush visit Christian shrine »
"Not only was my soul uplifted, but my knowledge of history was enriched," said the president, who also commented on the barriers in the area.
"Someday I hope that as a result of the formation of a Palestinian state that there won't be walls and checkpoints -- people will be able to move freely in a democratic state."
Possibly in protest of Bush's visit to the region, Palestinian militants in Gaza stepped up their ongoing rocket and mortar assault on southern Israel on Wednesday. None of the attacks resulted in casualties, but three Palestinians died after Israel's military struck back at northern Gaza.
Speaking at Wednesday's news conference, Olmert warned Abbas that he must get control of Gaza before any peace deal can be reached.
"There will be no peace unless terror is stopped and terror will have to be stopped everywhere," the Israeli leader said. Watch more on Bush's meetings with Israelis »
Hamas forces seized control of Gaza in June in what Abbas has called a coup against forces loyal to his Fatah movement. Fatah has consolidated its power in the West Bank, and the Palestinian leadership remains split between the two territories.
A major challenge for Bush's mission has been keeping the trip focused on Israeli-Palestinian peace while other issues -- Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and soaring oil prices -- dominate the media headlines and serve as reminders of the region's instability.
Bush's visit to the region has prompted the largest security operation in Israel since Pope John Paul II's visit in March 2000. More than 10,000 Israeli police are deployed across the region to back U.S. federal officers.