The fog that forced the US president to switch from a secure helicopter to a car to travel to Ramallah has lifted. But the mist obscuring the current state of the Middle East peace process remains.

Of course, no one seriously expected George W. Bush, on his first presidential visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah, to decisively defuse the conflict that has affected the region for decades, or bring its resolution any closer.

One cannot help asking at the end of the first leg of Bush's week-long trip to the Middle East whether the president is not simplifying the whole situation and viewing it through rose-tinted spectacles -- particularly when he insists that he is "completely convinced" that a peace treaty will be signed before the end of his term of office.

Non-committal approach will not work

Optimism is more useful than skepticism and faintheartedness in such difficult enterprises as the Middle East peace effort. Bush is also right -- if rather late -- in encouraging the Israelis and Palestinians to find a settlement by holding open and honest talks. And all previous attempts -- including numerous UN resolutions -- have failed. But Bush will not achieve his goal by adopting a friendly, but non-committal approach.

Many had hoped Bush would speak frankly and clearly, but they were disappointed. In Jerusalem, Bush said that he would call for President Mahmoud Abbas to stop the missile attacks on Israel even though he knows that Abbas cannot do anything about it, as they are being launched from the Gaza Strip, which is under Hamas control. In Ramallah, he voiced his opposition to a fragmented Palestinian state in a rather casual fashion, saying: "A Swiss cheese ain't gonna work…".

However, so far there has been nothing to suggest that he has directly told Israel that it would have to withdraw from all occupied territories as part of any peace deal. Instead, he skirted round the issue, preferring to speak of "alternative visions" for the Palestinians being the only means to combat violence.

Bush is quite right here. If the Palestinians are to be persuaded to turn away from Hamas and even more radical groups, they have to be inspired with a sense of trust that Mahmoud Abbas's way is the right one and that he will eventually fulfil their dream of living in their own state in peace and safety.

The president could have done his bit towards creating more trust by openly criticizing Israeli settlement policy and the omnipresent difficulties forced upon the Palestinians. He only hinted at such things, saying that they would be settled as part of the peace treaty.

The Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world called upon Washington to force Israel into making concessions. But Bush is not prepared to do that. And anyway, peace cannot be forced in that way. Israel has, however, for years been able to assure Bush that it was dismantling the settlements in the West Bank and yet they are still there.

If you are willing to tolerate that kind of thing, then you have no hope of inspiring trust.

Peter Philipp is DW's chief correspondent and an expert on the Middle East (jg)