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WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he remained optimistic that Israel and the Palestinians could reach a peace deal before he leaves office, despite a recent surge in Middle East violence.

"Ten months is a long time. There's plenty of time to get a deal done," Bush said after White House talks with Jordan's King Abdullah, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the region seeking to salvage the battered U.S.-sponsored peace push.

Bush said the goal of U.S. diplomacy is to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table. Rice earlier urged Israel and the Palestinians quickly to resume talks suspended over Israel's offensive in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dropped out of the negotiations on Sunday in protest at Israel's military operation in Gaza that killed more than 120 Palestinians before troops left on Monday. Israel said it would send forces back in if cross-border rocket attacks continued.

The fighting underscored the difficulty of achieving a agreement before Bush leaves office in January 2009, a goal that has drawn widespread skepticism inside and outside of the region.

"I'm optimistic and will continue to work hard to achieve the vision," Bush said. He insisted the United States "is engaged and will remain engaged" in the Middle East peace process.

The United States and Israel have blamed the violence on Hamas, which seized control of Gaza from Abbas's forces in June, and say the Islamist group is trying to wreck Palestinian statehood talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, editing by Frances Kerry)

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