WASHINGTON, Jan 21: US President George Bush ignored the troubled Middle East peace process on his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, making no mention of the roadmap for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement or any other effort to end the conflict.
Not only was the onced-vaunted roadmap ignored, but he did not use the words "Israel", "Palestinian", or "Palestine" at all in the nearly hour-long speech, the first such address he has given without touching on the subject, even briefly.
Mr Bush's one reference to the deteriorating situation between the two sides came in the context of the global war on terrorism when he noted that "Jerusalem", among other world cities, had been the site of terrorist attacks.
His failure to offer even a hint that his administration is preparing a renewed push to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians - as many in the Middle East and Europe had hoped - is sure to raise new questions about Washington's interest in resolving the situation.
US officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, have been suggesting since the beginning of the year that the United States, along with others, was ready to fully re-engage in the peace process.
"With our quartet partners - the United Nations, the European Union and Russia - we will help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace, so that a free Palestine will exist alongside a secure and democratic Jewish state in Israel," Mr Powell wrote in a piece entitled "What We Will Do in 2004", published in the New York Times on Jan 1.
But, although Mr Bush was the first US president to call specifically for the creation of an independent state called "Palestine" three years ago, he appears now to have largely withdrawn from the effort, frustrated by continuing violence.
PALESTINIANS UNEASY: The president's failure to mention the Middle East conflict in his address left the Palestinian side worrying that he intended to scale down US involvement in the matter.
Israel, apparently unconcerned, just shrugged it off. "The fact that President Bush did not mention the peace process at all means that 2004 will be a year of American disengagement from the peace process and the absence of the roadmap," said Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat.
Mr Erakat said he feared Israel would take advantage of this "to intensify settlement activity and accelerate construction of the wall, which will lead to a deterioration of the situation, causing more insecurity and stability in the region".
He was referring to the controversial barrier Israel is building to separate itself from the West Bank despite widespread condemnation from the international community, including from the United States.-AFP