As George Bush approaches the final months of his reign as US President it seems as though he has ambitious plans to go out on a high, with peace in the Middle East high on the agenda.  Yesterdays historic meeting between Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has given fresh hope that Palestine will one day soon be declared an official state.  But will the road be as smooth as the friendly photo shoot yesterday might suggest?

The Palestine v Israeli saga has been on going for many years and has been the reason for thousands of deaths in the region.  There are very few situations which have provoked so much controversy and differing of opinion than the refusal of Israel to recognise the state of Palestine.  This “war” has been ongoing for many many years and while the news yesterday was encouraging, the 12 month time scale to agree terms for a new State of Palestine seems very very ambitious by any standards.  So are they ready to talk for real?

The problem with this particular conflict is the mass of warring factions within each community, and the fact that Hamas have a major say in the running of Palestine.  Hamas were excluded from the meeting with Mr Bush and this is seen as a very poor starting point by many, with the former terrorist group expressing concerns that they were not involved.  This may well prompt a back lash from their supporters who could turn on their own leaders, with disastrous affect.

Is George Bush just looking for a big distraction to Iraq? Is he really serious about a Palestinian State after years of hardened support for Israel? Who knows, but the road to independence will surely be a winding one for the Palestinians.