The time is right to relaunch peace talks on the Middle East, George Bush said today at the opening of the Annapolis conference of leaders from the region.

In optimistic comments prepared for delivery to diplomats from more than 40 countries gathered at the US naval academy, the US president struck a positive note about the new peace effort, something his administration had previously shied away from.

The talks are aimed at jump-starting negotiations for creating a Palestinian state, and Bush emphasised that the meeting marked the beginning of a difficult process.

Bush argued it was time to pursue an agreement because the Palestinians and Israelis had leaders determined to achieve peace and because "we must not cede victory to the extremists" in the Middle East.

"The time is right, the cause is just, and with hard effort, I know they can succeed," he said.

As the president prepared to open the conference, tens of thousands of people protested in Gaza City against Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which has been under the control of Hamas Islamists since June.

"Abbas is a traitor" and "Death to Israel, death to America", the demonstrators chanted.

Speaking at the protest, Hamas leaders said Abbas had no right to make concessions to Israel.

"Let them go to a thousand conferences, we say in the name of the Palestinian people that we did not authorise anyone to sign any agreement that harms our rights," Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas leader, told a cheering crowd. "Anyone who does so will be judged by history as a traitor."

Security forces in Ramallah, the West Bank stronghold controlled by the Fatah forces of Abbas, dispersed crowds after scuffles at a protest.

In Annapolis, the US is making frantic efforts to close gaps between the Israelis and Palestinians on a joint declaration of principles.

Opinions on the progress made towards reaching a declaration were mixed yesterday: Israeli sources said there were still "significant" gaps after weeks of discussions; Yasser Abed Rabbo, a close Abbas aide, said agreement was close; and the US state department said parties were "converging" on a document with the help of Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state.

Bush now says Middle East peace will be a high priority until he leaves office in January 2009. Critics say he has neglected it fatefully since 2001, and has been discredited in the region by the war in Iraq and bias towards Israel.

Stephen Hadley, his national security adviser, signalled that the president was unlikely to put forward new ideas. "It is now time for the parties to get into this process by way of negotiation," Hadley told reporters. "And I don't think the president will conclude that the time is right to start offering ideas on outcomes on specific issues."

In the Middle East, many have already written off Annapolis, with Iran leading the opposition. "This conference has already failed," the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said yesterday. "The US and its accomplices hope to preserve their reputation by this conference and compensate for past failures of the fake Zionist regime."

Despite these problems - and considerable private doubts - both sides were trying to sound upbeat.

"We are going to have lots of participants in what I hope will launch a serious process of negotiations between us and the Palestinians," said Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister. Abbas said: "We have great hopes of this conference."

Participation by Saudi Arabia and Syria is giving it a strong Arab presence, including the first involvement in peace talks with Israel by the entire 22-member Arab League.

And he (the beast) shall confirm a covenant with many (Israel and the 22 member Arab League) for one week (Hebrew=shavoua) Daniel 9:27

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