RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- A Mideast peace agreement will require "painful concessions" by Israelis and Palestinians who must work together to defeat those "committed to violence," Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, left, and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney meet in Ramallah Sunday.
After meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Cheney stressed the U.S. commitment to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, saying it was "long overdue."
"Achieving that vision will require tremendous effort at the negotiating table and painful concessions on both sides," said Cheney, whose stop in Ramallah came just two months after President Bush's trip to the West Bank.
Abbas, a moderate, controls the West Bank and is battling Hamas militants who have taken charge of Gaza from Abbas-allied forces and have bombarded southern Israel with rockets.
"Terror and violence do not merely kill innocent civilians, they also kill the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people," Cheney said.
In their meeting, Abbas asked Cheney to help stop Israeli settlement expansion and military operations targeting militants, said Saeb Erekat, an Abbas aide.
Speaking at the news conference, Abbas thanked Cheney for U.S. support. But he also lashed out at Israel's settlements and checkpoints, and called for an end to Israeli military operations.
"Peace and security can't be achieved through settlement expansion and building barriers," he said. To reach peace, Abbas said, "what is required is will, courage and strong support from the international community, especially the U.S."
In his remarks, Cheney said, "A negotiated end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- one that addresses the legitimate national claims of both people -- will have limitless value. Years of mistrust and violence have achieved nothing, and the extremists who have stood in the way of a settlement have only caused further grief and suffering to the Palestinian and Israeli people."
"No one," he said, "deserves to go through life in a climate of fear of deprivation. ... That should not be and must not be the direction of events in this region."
Before the session, aides to Abbas said Abbas would tell Cheney there had been little progress in peace talks since the Palestinian leader and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to a resumption at a November conference hosted by President Bush in Maryland.
Cheney said "the future belongs to the advocates of peace and reconciliation." He quoted Bush and said that "the establishment of a state of Palestine is long overdue." The Bush administration, Cheney said, will commit resources to help the Palestinians build the infrastructure necessary to prosper.
Cheney held talks with Israeli officials in Jerusalem before flying by helicopter to the West Bank. After seeing Abbas, Cheney planned a separate meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
The vice president began Easter Sunday with a prayer and the singing of "Amazing Grace" at a tiny chapel in Jerusalem, then launched into a day of talks about the Mideast peace process and the rising influence of Iran in the region.
"We are obviously dedicated to doing all we can as an administration to try to move the peace process forward, and obviously actively involved in dealing with the threats that we see emerging in the region -- not only threats to Israel, but threats to the United States as well," Cheney said in a meeting with Israel's president, Shimon Peres.
It was clear that Cheney was referring to Iran. Peres was more specific, saying the declarations that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes against Israel cannot be ignored.
"We have this problem of the Iranians who want to build two satellites, the Hezbollah and the Hamas in Gaza. ... Nobody can control us and say that declarations by Ahmadinejad are less serious," Peres said. "We have to take it seriously."
He said time is of the essence in the peace negotiations, but that he believes progress is achievable.
Cheney is on a 10-day trip to the Mideast, where oil, the future of Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran's rising influence in the region have highlighted his talks with foreign leaders. His visit here is part of the Bush administration's strategy to keep the pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to reach a framework agreement for peace before Bush leaves office in January 2009. E-mail to a friend
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All About Dick Cheney • Mahmoud Abbas • Israel • Palestinian Politics
United States Vice President Dick Cheney watches Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert make a statement on March 22.
United States Vice President Dick Cheney met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday. Cheney met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Primer Minister Ehud Olmert and their Palestinian counterparts, the moderate President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as part of a tour of the Middle East.

Cheney told Palestinians that continuing violence against ill damage efforts for a Palestinian state. Cheney noted "Terror and rockets do not merely kill innocent civilians, they also kill the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people."

The Vice President remarked he is committed towards a Palestinian state, quoting President George W. Bush, "The establishment of the state of Palestine is long overdue.  The Palestinian people deserve it." Cheney also noted that  "Achieving that vision will require tremendous effort at the negotiating table and painful concessions on both sides."

 Abbas condemned rocket attacks against Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, but also told Israel to ease their restrictions on Palestinians. He also noted that Israel needs to stop building settlements within the West Bank. Abbas noted that, "Peace and stability will not be achieved through a settlement expansion, or the setting up of checkpoints around towns and villages, and the military escalation against Gaza, nor the incursions, continuous incursions into West Bank villages and towns."

Cheney met earlier in the day with Shimon Peres, the Israeli president. Both men spoke of Iran, with Peres noting upfront that Iran and their leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to "build their two satellites -- the Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Hamas in Gaza ... Nobody can console us and say that the declarations of Ahmadinejad are less serious than they are; we have to take it seriously, out of experience." 

Cheney noted that the Bush administration is pledged to the peace process and also referenced Iran but not directly,  "We're obviously dedicated to doing all we can as an administration to try to move the peace process forward, and also obviously actively involved in dealing with the threats that we see emerging in the region -- not only threats to Israel, but threats to the United States, as well."

Cheney met with Prime Minister Olmert on Saturday and told Olmert that, "The United States will never pressure Israel to take steps that threaten its security." He also told Olmert that the United States backs Israel's right to defend itself from Hamas rocket attacks but that America was also working for a peace deal between Israel and the moderate Fatah-controlled Palestinian government in the West Bank.

Abbas lost control of the Gaza Strip to the rival Hamas party last year. Abbas, who is the leader of the more moderate Fatah party currently runs the Palestinian government located in the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory.