Israel, apparently unconcerned, just shrugged it off.

"The fact that President Bush did not mention the peace process at all means that 2004 will be a year of American disengagement from the peace process and the absence of the roadmap," said Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat.

In his annual address to Congress Tuesday evening, Bush made absolutely no mention of the roadmap for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement, nor did he use the words "Israel," "Palestinian" or "Palestine" in the nearly hour-long speech.

Erakat said he feared Israel would take advantage of this "to intensify settlement activity and accelerate construction of the wall, which will lead to a deterioration of the situation, causing more insecurity and stability in the region."

He was referring to the controversial barrier Israel is building to separate itself from the West Bank despite widespread condemnation from the international community, including from its top ally, the United States.

Palestinian political analyst Ali Jarbawi echoed Erakat's concerns.

"This year, Sharon will force his political agenda on the ground and impose the settlement of the conflict he wants with the blessing of the US administration," he said, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"The roadmap is a US invention, and not mentioning it at all is a sign of failure, the failure of the United States in pushing for peace efforts here," Jarbawi said.

The roadmap, a plan drawn up by the so-called diplomatic quartet of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia to try to bring Israeli-Palestinian peace, has been deadlocked for months.

Yet Israel seemed unfazed by Bush's speech, with government spokesman Avi Pazner stressing that the US president had other fish to fry.

"It shows that President Bush has more important issues to mention. As far as the Middle East is concerned, he insisted once more on the necessity that countries in the region become democratic, which Israel can only approve of," he said.

Reacting to Bush's remarks on democracy, Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei questioned the US leader's order of priorities.

"We're hoping that before dealing with democratic processes in the Middle East, President Bush will pronounce on (Israel's) occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza," he told reporters on Wednesday.

Eytan Gilboa, a specialist in US-Israeli relations, said the president's comments on the need for democracy in the Middle East were "relevant" to the Palestinians.

"He has asked for reforms and a change of leadership, but the Palestinians have done nothing," he said.

"What he said about democracy is very relevant to Arafat. From Bush's perspective, he is no different than other dictators in the region such as (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad or (toppled Iraqi president Saddam) Hussein," he added.

Gilboa said it was no surprise that Bush dropped the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from his speech.

"He did so because ahead of the elections, he has to concentrate on what voters have in mind, and Americans are mostly concerned about jobs and the economy," he said.

And the Middle East had not proven to be a place where US foreign policy had worked out succesfully, he added. "You have to mention positive and promising things ahead of presidential elections."

But in final analysis, Gilboa said that elections or not, Bush would have increasingly disengaged himself from the Mideast conflict.

"The situation on the ground is such that it is not inviting," he said. "The Palestinians have done nothing to implement the roadmap and have deceived the president."

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