ME peace needs 'tough sacrifices', says Bush

US President George W. Bush said on Sunday that peace in the Middle East was possible by the end of the year but that it needed action on both sides and "tough sacrifices".
Bush, on the final leg of a Middle East tour, also again took aim at archfoe Iran over its nuclear drive and criticised the nations of the region over the lack of political freedom and human rights.
"I firmly believe that with leadership and courage, we can reach that peace agreement this year... This is a demanding task, and it requires action on all sides," he said.
"Palestinians must fight terror and continue to build the institutions of a free and peaceful society. Israel must make tough sacrifices for peace and ease restrictions on Palestinians."
Bush wraps up his tour with a speech to the Middle East World Economic Forum and talks with regional leaders, facing Arab scepticism over the chances of Israeli-Palestinian peace with negotiations so far failing to make any visible progress.
"We said very clearly we are seeing progress," US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters, hinting the president could visit the region for a third time this year.
"But we are not at the point where the president is going to have a meeting with (Palestinian) president (Mahmud) Abbas and (Israeli) Prime Minister (Ehud) Olmert to try to declare a vision."
According to a copy of his address to the forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Bush called on the world to prevent Tehran from obtaining the nuclear bomb and to isolate Iran and its closest regional ally Syria.
"Every peaceful nation in the region has an interest in stopping these nations from supporting terrorism," Bush said.
"To allow the world's leading sponsor of terror to gain the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
Opec member Iran has repeatedly denied seeking the atomic bomb and says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at generating energy.
Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Sunday that US President George W. Bush's speech to Israel's parliament had angered Palestinians.
"Bush's speech in front of the Knesset angered us," Abbas told reporters in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the official MENA news agency reported.
Bush addressed the Israeli parliament at the start of a regional tour as the Jewish state marked its 60th anniversary, sparking Arab anger over his perceived bias towards Israel.