Bush Lauds Olmert's West Bank Plan

President George W. Bush on Tuesday praised Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan for a unilateral redrawing of West Bank borders, saying it could be "an important step toward the peace we both support."

But Mr. Bush, in the first White House meeting with the new Israeli leader, stopped short of a full endorsement, saying a negotiated agreement "best serves Israelis and Palestinians and the cause of peace."

Mr. Bush also urged Israel to reach out to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an alternative to dealing with the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Authority.

Abbas "speaks out for peace and negotiations," Bush said.

"Hamas must recognize Israel's right to exist, must abandon terror, must accept all previous agreements," Mr. Bush said. "No country can be expected to make peace with those who deny its right to exist, and who use terror to attack its population."

Olmert said he extended his hand to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, and hopes "he will take the necessary steps which he committed to in order to move forward."

But he said the rise of Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and regards terrorism as a legitimate tool, "severely undermines the possibility of promoting a genuine peace process."

Olmert says that if Abbas does not change his attitude soon, "we will not wait indefinitely," reports CBS correspondent Howard Arenstein.

Olmert says that he plans to start moving Israel out of certain West Bank settlements and allow the creation of a Palestinian State "hopefully" within "three to four years," reports Arenstein.

President Bush praised Olmert's ideas as "bold."