WASHINGTON: The White House on Thursday said President George W. Bush was committed to a diplomatic push for peace in the Mideast ahead of his visit to the region next week despite renewed violence marked by an Israeli ground and air assault in Gaza.
"He'll be talking about Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, as well as Israeli-Arab reconciliation, and the overall situation of ... Middle East regional security," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Diplomatic discussions were continuing between Israeli and Palestinian representatives but the situation remained tense ahead of Bush's visit next week, she said.
"The parties are continuing to try to meet and talk, but obviously it's fraught with a lot of tension," Perino said.
Her comments came amid reports on Thursday of Israeli ground and air bombardments in Gaza that killed nine Palestinians, including two women, in the latest assault on the Hamas-ruled territory.
Israel has carried out near-daily military strikes and incursions across what it considers a 'hostile entity' in a bid to halt militant rocket fire since the Islamist movement Hamas seized control of Gaza in June.
Perino said she was not aware of the military action but said Israel had recently come under attack 'from the other side'.
Bush is scheduled to depart on Tuesday for a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in an attempt to boost Middle East peace talks relaunched at an international conference in Annapolis in November.
Asked if the violence in Gaza could undermine Bush's diplomatic effort, Perino said there were concerns over security but that the president was committed to helping the Israeli and Palestinian leaders forge peace.
"Everybody is concerned about the violence. It's one of the reasons that the president has helped these two leaders come together and launch negotiations so that they could get to a place where they have a Palestinian state. They support two states living side by side in peace," she said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas were 'willing to work together', Perino said, but she added that "it's going to be a long road ahead because there's a lot of history and a lot of tension, a lot of politics, and a lot of concern about security."
