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US Vice-President Dick Cheney is holding talks with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank town of Ramallah as part of a Middle-East tour. He made the trip after giving Israel strong backing on security issues. The visit is part of an attempt to revive the peace process, but correspondents say people on both sides remain sceptical. It came as rival Palestinian groups signed a Yemeni-brokered reconciliation deal promising to revive direct talks. Hamas and Fatah have been in conflict since the dissolution of a Hamas-led government and the militant group's seizure of control in the Gaza Strip. Peace hopes In Ramallah, Mr Cheney met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and is due to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Security is tight for the visit, with police blocking streets within several kilometres of the government compound. Earlier, he said Washington was committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state and that Palestinian leaders could be "certain of America's goodwill". Mr Cheney also reaffirmed US backing for Israel. "America's commitment to Israel's security is enduring and unshakeable, as is our commitment to Israel's right to defend itself - always - against terrorism, rocket attacks and other threats from forces dedicated to Israel's destruction," he said at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday. "The United States will never pressure Israel to take steps to threaten its security." US President George W Bush has said he hopes for a peace deal before he leaves office in January. But the BBC's Tim Franks in Jerusalem says Israelis and Palestinians are sceptical about the chances for peace. Opinion polls suggest that most people doubt that the current talks, given an extra push by the Americans at the end of last year, will lead to a deal any time soon. Regional tour Mr Cheney is on the latest leg of a tour that has included Iraq, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. He flew to Israel after an overnight visit to Saudi Arabia, where he and King Abdullah discussed ways of stabilising the oil market. On Thursday, Mr Cheney held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, urging greater Nato commitment. The vice-president's Middle East tour also took him to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, five years after the US-led invasion. Mr Cheney will visit Turkey before returning to Washington. | ||
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