On the face of it, US President George W Bush’s tough talk in Israel suggests a long-overdue shift in Washington’s approach to the West Asia conflict. Bush called explicitly for “an end to Israeli occupation that began in 1967” and strongly endorsed the two-state solution.

He referred to Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people. However,  his reference to the future borders of the Palestinian state indicate that he endorses the ongoing creeping occupation by the Israelis of Palestinian territory through the building of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. Bush said an agreement on future borders would require mutually agreed adjustments of the armistice lines of 1949 “to current realities.”

Adjustment to current realities would mean drawing the lines in a way that would reflect the status quo and this in turn means allowing Israel to keep control over the settlements it has been building in violation of international law. With regard to the problem of Palestinian refugees, Bush suggested that this could be solved by giving them compensation. This effectively rules out the Palestinians’ right to return. Bush’s statements in Israel and the West Bank indicate that the resolution of the conflict he is hoping to achieve continues to be clearly on Israel’s terms. It is the same old recipe for “resolution of the conflict.”

Bush’s visit to West Asia is reported to be aimed at shoring up support from the region for Washington’s much touted peace effort inaugurated amidst much fanfare at an international conference in Annapolis in the US six weeks ago. But far from dousing the flames of conflict in the region, Bush’s visit is likely to add fuel to the fire.

He has been seeking to deepen the Iranian-Arab divide and to this end has been canvassing Arab support for containing Iran, describing Teheran as the world’s leading state-sponsor of terror. Besides, the US has reached agreement with the Saudis regarding a major sale of sensitive military technology. Clearly, the Bush agenda in the Middle East is not about building peace but about fuelling conflict in the region and selling weapons.

It is a pity that major powers in West Asia have failed to stand up to US machinations in the region. The latest Bush visit clearly lays out Washington’s agenda. If only regimes in the region would see through the rhetoric.