Bush: We'd defend Israel in event of Iranian strike

An Iranian attack on Israel isn't imminent, but the U.S. would defend its ally in such an event, U.S. President George Bush said in an interview with Channel 2 Television broadcast Saturday, days before he is slated to begin a Mideast visit.

A recent U.S. intelligence report positing that Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003 did not mean that Iran no longer poses a danger, because Iran can restart the program or use its civilian nuclear program for military purposes, Bush said.

Iran's president, Mahmoud Amadinejad, has said Israel should be wiped off the map, and Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as an existential threat.

"If I were an Israeli, I would take the words of the Iranian president seriously, and as president of the United States I take them seriously," Bush said.

"Whether there's an imminent attack coming, I don't think so," Bush said.

"If Iran did strike Israel," Bush said, "We will defend our ally, no ands, ifs or buts."

Bush is scheduled to begin his upcoming Mideast trip in Israel on Wednesday and will also visit the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. There has been speculation that he will also visit Lebanon and Iraq, but the White House has not confirmed that.

Peres: Bush visit could mark start of actions in peace process

President Shimon Peres said Saturday that Bush's visit, his first presidential trip to Israel and the West Bank, could spur efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement before the U.S. leader leaves office in January 2009.

"I think this trio [Bush, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] has a chance, and if it moves now to the realm of action, it's very possible Bush's visit will herald the passage from talk to action," Peres told Channel Two television in an interview in Jerusalem.

Peres defined action as negotiations on core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, security moves by Abbas to rein in militants in the occupied West Bank and a swift influx of economic aid that would strengthen the Fatah leader.

Olmert and Abbas agreed at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November to try to forge a deal on Palestinian statehood by the end of 2008.

Hamas: Bush is not welcome in Middle East

Hamas on Saturday, however, dismissed Bush's upcoming visit to the Middle East as a "photo opportunity" and said he was not welcome in the region.

Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in June and opposes Abbas' bid to make peace with Israel, said Bush's visit was aimed at shoring up support for Israel.

"Bush's visit is unwelcome because it aims to serve the occupation and provide it with political and psychological support," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement. "The visit is nothing but a farewell visit to get some photo opportunities as Bush prepares to leave the White House."

Israel and its Western allies are trying to bolster Abbas against his Hamas rivals and have shunned the Islamist group for refusing to renounce violence and recognize Israel.

Abu Zuhri said Bush's visit was meant to fuel internal Palestinian divisions, and said the president's policies were "completely biased" in favor of Israel.

Hamas seized control of Gaza after routing Abbas's Fatah forces in June, prompting Abbas to sack a Hamas-led government and appoint a new administration led by Western-educated Salam Fayyad, paving the way for U.S. talks with Israel.

Fayyad told a Palestinian radio station on Saturday Palestinians would press Bush on Israel's settlement activity - an issue that has already soured talks and which Bush this week called "an impediment" to peace efforts.

Talks launched at Annapolis have faltered since Israel announced plans to build hundreds of new homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank - a move the Palestinians say contravenes its obligations under a 2003 U.S. peace "road map".

For its part, Israel says the Palestinians have failed to meet their own road map commitments on reining in militants.

	U.S. President George W. Bush (Reuters)