US President George W. Bush said he is confident that an Israeli-Palestinian agreement could be reached before January next year, when his tenure ends. “Ten months is a long time,” he said. “It may seem short to you, but there is plenty of time to get a deal done.”

After the meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on March 4, President Bush told reporters that both Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are committed to achieve peace.

“I am absolutely convinced that Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas understand that this is now a key moment in achieving peace,” said President Bush.

The peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were suspended after more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli military strikes in Gaza Strip.

“This is a process that, you know, always has two steps forward and one step back. We've just got to make sure that it's only one step back,” Bush said.

Bush, who intends to return to the region in May, expressed his commitment to help the two leaders reach a peace deal.

“We can't impose peace. We can help leaders come to agreement and come to the table and make hard decisions. We can help facilitate the bridging of gaps, if there are gaps,” he said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the region to determine the two sides to continue the peace negotiations. She enhanced the fact that the rocket attacks have to stop. The US accused Hamas of generating violence at the Israeli border. Rice has openly accused Iran for providing munitions to Hamas group, which is deemed by the US to be a terrorist organization. Hamas took control of Gaza Strip last July.

BBC News reports that Rice also seemed optimistic as regards the achievement of a peace agreement this year.

However, President Abbas reiterated his call on the Israeli government to cease fire, stating that this is the only way to solve the conflict.

“I call on the Israeli government to halt its aggression so the necessary environment can be created to make negotiations succeed, for us and for them, to reach the shores of peace in 2008,” he told reporters in Ramallah.

President Bush praised King Abdullah, saying “The United States has no stronger friend in the Middle East than Jordan,” the Associated Press quotes him as saying.