Visiting U.S. President George W. Bush Thursday called for an end to Israel's occupation of Arabl and since 1967, but failed to elaborate.
"There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967,"Bush told reporters to summarize his two days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
But he failed to say which parts of Arab land seized by Israel in 1967 should be returned.
In the 1967 third Middle East war, Israel seized several pieces of Arab land, including the Palestinian West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Syria's Golan Heights.
Also in his statement, Bush specifically suggested "new international mechanisms" to settle the thorny issue of Palestinian refugees.
"I believe we need to look to the establishment of a Palestinian state and new international mechanisms, including compensation, to resolve the refugee issue," Bush said.
"A Palestinian state must resolve the refugee issue," he said.
The president also called on Arab states to reach out to Israel, saying such a step was long overdue.
"I call upon the Arab countries to reach out to Israel - a step that is long overdue," he said.
By now in the Arab world, only Egypt and Jordan recognize Israel and have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. While the Arab nations, including regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, have refused to recognize Israel.
Bush, who arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday noon to start an eight-day regional tour, is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories for the first time since he took office in 2000.
His visit was partly aimed at advancing the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in the wake of the Annapolis peace conference in November last year.
At the peace conference, Israel and the Palestinians had pledged to strive for a final-status agreement before the end of2008. But talks between the two sides have been low-key with no tangible progress.
Following Israel and the Palestinian territories, Bush will also visit Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. And there are media reports speculating that he will also make a surprise visit to Iraq.
Source:Xinhua
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