By Matt Spetalnick and Mohammed Assadi

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Making his first presidential visit to the occupied West Bank on Thursday, George W. Bush passed potent symbols of the conflict he hopes to solve -- Jewish settlements and Israel's imposing barrier.

On day two of a trip to Israel and the West Bank to try to invigorate Middle East peace talks, Bush was forced by bad weather to travel to a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by motorcade instead of helicopter.

The drive to the city of Ramallah took him past Israel's towering concrete and barbed wire barrier, through a military checkpoint and around craggy West Bank hills dotted with the red-roofed houses of Jewish settlements -- highlighting some of the thorniest problems facing peacemakers. Bush and Abbas met at the presidential "Muqata" compound -- spruced up with a fresh coat of paint -- which stirred memories of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who spent the last three years of his life under siege there by Israeli forces.

Arafat came to embody the Palestinian struggle against Israel but was reviled by Bush as an obstacle to peace. A photograph of the leader in his trademark chequered kaffiyeh hung above Bush as the U.S. president voiced confidence that a deal to create a state of Palestine was in reach.

After the meeting, Bush's helicopter took off from a re-paved parking lot next to Arafat's mausoleum -- which the president bypassed. Snipers stood atop the muqata.

Many in Ramallah said Bush was biased in favour of Israel and doubt he will press the Jewish state to halt settlement activity in the West Bank and ease security restrictions they say amount to collective punishment.

While echoing Israel's argument that military checkpoints are needed to protect its citizens, Bush also acknowledged the "massive frustrations" they cause Palestinians and joked about his own journey to the West Bank.

"You'll be happy to hear that my motorcade of 45 cars was able to make it through without being stopped but I'm not exactly sure that's what happens to the average person," he said.

Ramallah, usually a bustling business hub, came to a standstill for the visit -- the first by a sitting U.S. president to the city about 20 km (12 miles) from downtown Jerusalem. Shops straddling the road to Abbas's compound closed and pedestrians were banned from the streets, while hundreds of armed Palestinian security officers patrolled key intersections.

Some locals complained about the disruption, especially given scant hopes for the visit.

"His weapons are being used to kill our kids so he cannot be an honest mediator," said Abu Haitham, a father of eight who sells spinach in Ramallah's market. "I'm incurring losses because of him."

A devout Christian, Bush headed to Bethlehem to visit the traditional birthplace of Jesus on Thursday. (Writing by Rebecca Harrison; Editing by Dominic Evans)

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