The establishment of a Palestinian state requires "more efforts and painful concessions from both sides," visiting US Vice President Dick Cheney affirmed Sunday as he met with Palestinian leaders on the first full day of his trip to Israel and the West Bank. "President George Bush is the first US president to adopt the principle of establishing an independent Palestinian state living in peace. Our administration is committed to achieving this goal," he said at a joint news conference with President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Cheney pointed out, in a reference to Palestinian groups who reject peace talks with Israel, that rockets from the Gaza Strip and terrorism do not only kill innocent people, but also kill the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinians. Abbas, for his part, said he valued the efforts of the United States and the insistence of President Bush to reach a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But he slammed Israel, saying that peace and security in the region could not be achieved through expansion of settlements, roadblocks and a military offensive in the Gaza Strip or incursions and arrests in the West Bank. He said the Palestinians condemned rockets attacks from the Gaza Strip on Israel, saying that "we believe in a real peace that puts an end to this conflict that creates tension in the whole region." "The needed peace is the peace that treats all permanent status issues, including Jerusalem and the refugees," he said. "If peace is achieved, it will be able to defeat the powers of extremism and terrorism." Cheney, who touched down in Israel Saturday night, said after meeting Olmert that Washington wanted "to see a resolution to the conflict, an end to the terrorism that has caused so much grief to Israelis, and a new beginning for the Palestinian people," according to a report of the German news agency "DPA." Cheney is in Israel as part of a nine-day regional tour, which took him to Iraq, Afghanistan, Oman and Saudi Arabia, and will take him to Turkey before he returns to Washington on Tuesday.
