American President George W. Bush's warm and friendly speech to the Knesset Thursday leaves an "embattled" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to "stand before a divided parliament…and forcefully declare" that Israel is ready to reach a pact with the Palestinian Authority (PA), The Associated Press reported. The news service pointed out that the visiting president mentioned the PA only once during his 23-minute speech.

It added that the Bush administration's effort to bring the PA and Israel together "seems to have run out of steam" at the same the Prime Minster is "weak and unpopular" and under a criminal investigation while the PA is weak and divided.