Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were due to hold talks Wednesday in Amman on the Middle East crisis, as Israel reoccupied Palestinian land following a bloody bomb attack.
Mubarak was to have several hours of talks with Abdullah as US President George W. Bush fine-tuned a new peace plan for the troubled region which he is expected to unveil imminently.
The talks would focus on the “latest developments in the Middle East and international efforts to revive peace negotiations,” as well as prospects to convene a US-championed Middle East peace conference, a court official told AFP.
Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries to have peace treaties with Israel and are also Washington’s top allies in the region. Both insist on an end to Israeli occupation of Arab land and the creation of a Palestinian state as a means to defuse the crisis.
Abdullah and Mubarak recently had separate meetings with Bush.
On Tuesday a devastating Palestinian suicide attack claimed by the radical Islamic Hamas movement killed 19 Israelis plus the bomber on a bus in Jerusalem.
Israel’s mini-cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided late Tuesday on retaliatory “military actions”, and discussed as well the possible expulsion of senior aides to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The government later said it would partially reoccupy Palestinian land, and would take over more if attacks continued.
Israeli Defence Minister Defence Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer meanwhile telephoned Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb and Egyptian presidential adviser Osama al-Baz, with a message of warning.
“There must be firm Arab mobilisation against the policies of terrorism and the violence led by Yasser Arafat which is threatening to destabilise the region,” Ben Eliezer said, according to a statement.
He warned that the Israeli government would have to take action due to the “gravity of the situation”.
Hours later the Israeli army entered a number of West Bank towns.
In Washington Bush said he was determined to act for peace in the Middle East, despite the latest bloodshed.
“We believe in peace in the Middle East, that we’re going to be steadfast toward a vision that rejects terror and killing, and honours peace and hope,” Bush said after the Palestinian suicide attack.
Aides said Bush could unveil a blueprint for Middle East peace as early as Wednesday, opting for the creation of a “provisional” Palestinian state and call an international conference to discuss the matter.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal meanwhile told a news conference in Cairo on Tuesday that the entire Arab world is prepared to offer Israel peace in exchange for its total withdrawal from occupied Arab land.
The offer is based on Saudi proposals unanimously adopted at an Arab summit in Lebanon in March that have yet to be accepted by Israel. – AFP