The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

President George W. Bush said Tuesday he was still hopeful of a Middle East peace deal before he left office in January but warned that the Islamist Hamas group could "undermine" the effort.

In a White House press conference, Bush acknowledged that achieving peace was an uphill task but said he was "still hopeful we will get an agreement by the end of my presidency" in January 2009 on establishing a Palestinian state.

Bush, who formally restarted Mideast peace negotiations in November last year after a seven-year freeze, will visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt from May 13 to 18. "It's going to be difficult but it's even made more difficult by entities like Hamas who insist upon lobbing rockets into Israel.