U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday. VOA's Jim Teeple reports that on a trip the West Bank, Cheney warned Palestinians that continued violence against Israel will hurt efforts to create a Palestinian state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, talks with US Vice President Dick Cheney during their meeting at Abbas' office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 23 Mar 2008
Cheney traveled to the West Bank city of Ramallah Sunday where he met with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. In remarks following the talks with Mr. Abbas, Cheney said the U.S. is strongly committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state. However, he said Palestinian violence against Israel could doom any chance for a future Palestine.
"Terror and rockets do not merely kill innocent civilians, they also kill the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people," Cheney said. "A negotiated end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one that addresses the legitimate national claims of both peoples, would 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 grief and suffering for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples."
In his remarks, Palestinian President Abbas condemned rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip that target towns in southern Israel. He also called on Israel to ease its restrictions on the Palestinians.
Mr. Abbas says peace will not come to the Middle East as long as Israel continues to build settlements in the occupied West Bank and kills Palestinians in their own territory.
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators have been holding a series of talks since late last year, aimed at reaching a peace agreement by the end of this year. However Palestinians say the talks have not resulted in any progress when it comes to stopping Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, or easing restrictions on Palestinians' freedom of movement.
Israel says Palestinians must do more to stop terrorism, including the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.
A spokesman for Hamas militants who control Gaza criticized Cheney's visit, saying it was designed only to offer support for Israel's actions against the Palestinians.
Hamas militants defeated Fatah forces loyal to Mr. Abbas last year, taking control of Gaza and effectively splitting the Palestinian territories in two.
Mr. Abbas says any reconciliation must be contingent upon Hamas agreeing to restore his authority in Gaza, something Hamas leaders have so far been unwilling to do.
Efforts to reconcile Palestinians appeared to take a step forward on Sunday when Hamas and Fatah representatives meeting in Yemen agreed to hold direct talks aimed at resolving their split.
No date has been set for the talks, but the issue is expected to be on the agenda at the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus scheduled to take place at the end of March.
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.