By Matt Spetalnick and Tabassum Zakaria
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - U.S. President George W.Bush will try on Saturday to address the concerns ofPalestinian leaders looking for signs they will not beneglected after he lavished praise on Israel earlier this week.
In the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the final stopof his Middle East tour, Bush faces growing scepticism over hischances of securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before heleaves office in January.
On the way from the airport, Bush's motorcade passed a"peacemakers" mural on the side of the road marking pastefforts on Middle East diplomacy by his predecessors.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak greeted Bush at theairport and then they held a private meeting but made no publicstatements afterward. Bush will next see Afghan President HamidKarzai and then meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestinians were dismayed that Bush, in his speech toIsrael's parliament on Thursday, made only one reference totheir aspirations for a state of their own and did not use theoccasion to press Israelis to make compromises.
The White House denied Bush was ignoring the plight of thePalestinians, insisting he would address their concerns in hismeeting with Abbas.
"What he will make clear is that the Palestinian peopledeserve a state," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
Bush's visit to Israel to celebrate its 60th anniversaryraised fresh doubts in the Arab world over his ability to actas an even-handed broker between Israel and the Palestinians.
He hailed Israel as a "homeland for the chosen people" andpledged that Israelis could forever count on American supportagainst enemies like Hamas and Iran.
Abbas will make his case for Bush to put more pressure onIsrael. But he has little leverage and is weak at home,governing only in the West Bank while Hamas controls Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is also on the ropes,facing a corruption scandal that could force his resignationand possibly derail the peace process altogether.
Bush will meet Jordan's King Abdullah, Pakistani PrimeMinister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Iraqi officials on Sunday at aninternational economic forum before heading home.
PEACE PROCESS STALLED
Bush's Middle East tour, his second this year, follows aU.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in Novemberwhere Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged to try to reach apeace agreement by the end of Bush's term.
Since then, talks have bogged down over Israeli settlementexpansion in the occupied West Bank and violence in and aroundthe Gaza Strip, where Hamas cross-border rocket fire hastriggered a tough Israeli military response.
Bush has voiced optimism that a deal can be reached as hetries to carve out a foreign policy legacy beyond the unpopularwar in Iraq.
Israelis gave Bush a hero's welcome this week, many seeinghim as the best friend the Jewish state has ever had in theWhite House.
Critics said Bush showed insensitivity by heaping praise onIsrael on the day Palestinians annually mark what they call the"Nakba," or catastrophe, when some 700,000 Arabs fled or wereforced from their homes during the war over Israel's creation.
"He should have told the Israelis no one can be free at theexpense of others," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said."He missed this opportunity and we are disappointed."
As Bush visited Saudi Arabia on Friday, Saudi ForeignMinister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters: "What isrequired is equality in dealings ... and not selectiveness indealings."
(Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
