He believed Israel should seize control over the Gaza Strip and neutralize the rocket launchers.

Sattar Kassem, Professor of political science at the An-Najah National University near Nablus, held that no agreement will ever be reached as long as Israel does not recognize the Palestinians' rights of returning to Israel in accordance with international law under the Geneva Conventions.

The problem with the Israelis and the Americans is that their stances emerge from "a Western state of mind". the United States and Israel failed over and over to reach a peace agreement because they don't see the big picture and don't understand it. What they really do is building up for the next war, Professor Kassem said.

"There is no hope for a solution without the Palestinian's return. If they don not accept it, war will continue," the Professor added.

"A visit of the U.S. President is always accompanied by an increased media coverage. This is a chance to expose Israel's positive actions, unfortunately, the usual negative coverage Israel receives daily," an official of the Israeli Prime Minister office told Xinhua on condition for anonymity.

Despite the rough times ahead of Olmert, for Israel's part, it is clear that the purpose of the visit at the end of Bush's mandate is to keep the flame of a peace process, to make sure the platform of the peace talks exists and it will serve future discussions when one of the sides decides to return to the negotiation table.

"Israel understands perfectly that it faces a complex situation. On one hand Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, on the other hand, both sides are determined to continue the peace efforts," the official added.

Though the American presence in Israel's 60th anniversary infuses sparks of hope, it is clear that a peace agreement is not coming soon, according to the political analysts.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)