Jordanian Monarch urges Olmert to stop settlement activities in occupied territories

King Abdullah II discusses with France's Sarkozy region's developments

President Bush says peace agreement to be finalized by year's end, insists settlements must be dismantled

U.S. President praises Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' role in peace march

King Abdullah II of Jordan urged Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to stop Israeli settlement operations on Palestinian land, branding this a "violation" of the understanding reached at the Annapolis conference on November 27, according to an official statement.

Olmert's rare visit to Jordan came one day after talks at Aqaba between King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"The king reiterated Jordan's rejection of any settlement activity in the Palestinian territories, considering this a flagrant violation of what had been agreed at the Annapolis conference," a royal court statement read. Abdullah urged Olmert to refrain from any "unilateral actions that could impede progress in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on final status issues."

He also expressed hope that US President George W Bush's visit to the region next week would represent "a strong incentive for implementing what had been agreed on during the Annapolis meeting and to help the Palestinians and Israelis to fulfill their commitments," including the creation of an independent Palestinian state before the end of 2008.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy had a session of talks with King Abdullah II in the coastal city of al-Aqaba, southern Jordan, that dealt with the Middle East peace process and the situation in Lebanon.

A royal court statement read that the Jordanian monarch briefed the French president on the contacts and meetings he has with the parties concerned with the peace process in a bid to muster support to help the Palestinian and Israeli sides go ahead with the negotiations process based on international legitimacy resolutions aimed at reaching an overall, durable and peaceful settlement for the Palestinian issue.

The talks also touched on developments in Lebanon as the two sides stressed support for the "efforts aimed at reaching reconciliation and national rapprochement to realize Lebanon's higher interests and maintain its unity and sovereignty."

Abdullah and Sarkozy "expressed concern as regards failure by Lebanese parties to agree on the election of a new president for the republic in a way sparing Lebanon serious repercussions as a result of continued political vacuum," according to the royal court statement.

The king also thanked France for its contribution to implementing development projects in Jordan and for its "positive" stand towards Jordan's debts due for the Paris Club.

National Palestinian Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas said there can be no negotiations with the Israeli side as long as settlement activities on occupied territories continue, noting the "real obstacle" that emerged after the Annapolis meeting was the issue of settlement.

"The issue of settlement was discussed recently with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert," said Abbas (Abu Mazen) in statements to reporters after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Abu Mazen said Olmert has promised two things: instructing all Israeli ministers to refrain from any settlement activity and the activation of the U.S.-Palestinian-Israeli troika committee to deal with the issues contained in the first item in the roadmap plan, which provides for the obligations of both Israel and the PNA.

On the Palestinian side's view of Olmert's recent statements in which he hinted at the idea of returning to the 1967 borders and in the same time keeping the major settlements in the West Bank, Abu Mazen replied that "our position in this concern was clear. We want the 1967 borders. This is not only our demand but also what is stipulated by the international legitimacy resolutions."

"U.S. President George W. Bush has himself expressed this on his vision for two states as he asserted that the 1967 occupation must be terminated," he said.

Meanwhile, Abu Mazen termed as "not encouraging" the initial reactions by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to his recent initiative for dialogue.

"There is nothing new to the ideas we have already offered in this initiatives. We hope our brothers have recourse to reason so that we may have positive replies," he said.

Asked whether there were Egyptian-Saudi endeavors to mend the rift between the PNA and Hamas and the fate of these efforts in light of a reportedly continuing U.S. hindering of such orientation, the Palestinian president said "the United States has nothing to do with relations among us Palestinians."

In an attempt to forge a strong Arab-Palestinian stand ahead of U.S. President Bush's visit to the Middle East region, two Palestinian officials held intensive talks in Cairo.

Dr. Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian president's representative, had talks in Egypt with Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, who also received Maj. General Jebril al-Rajoub, the member of the Fatah Movement's revolutionary council.

"It would be impossible for the Palestinians to negotiate with the Israelis under the slogan 'land for peace' in a time when the land is annexed piece by piece to consolidate the Israeli occupation through settlement," Shaath told reporters.

"We would be fooling ourselves if we negotiated in this situation," he added.

"Olmert has notified Abu Mazen that he instructed his ministers to stop settlement activities but on the next day we saw newspaper ads announcing a tender to build 300 settlement units. We would not settle with what the Israelis said. We want to see genuine cessation of settlement activities on the ground," Shaath said.

In an interview with the Israeli English-language newspaper The Jerusalem Post, Olmert said that the whole world calls on Israel to end its presence in the areas it occupied in 1967, but Israel does not agree to withdrawal to these lines completely.

"In the meantime, Israel knows that it can't ignore the international stance and accordingly a comprehensive settlement for a Palestinian-Israeli conflict would be built on these borders, and in Jerusalem too," Olmert said, referring, however, to "annexing residential compounds in the settlements adjacent to Jerusalem and the green line to be an indivisible part of the state of Israel."

Israeli circles had spoken at the end of last year about differences between Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on progress in the political march with the Palestinians.

Those circles said that Rice accused Olmert of cowardice and over-hesitation and that she complained to some Israeli officials she met recently about Olmert's non-stop complaints of risks threatening the collapse of his government coalition if serious steps were taken towards clinching a peace deal although he leads one of the most stable governments in the history of Israel.

US President George W. Bush called on Israel to dismantle wildcat settlement outposts on occupied Palestinian land, in an interview published on Friday ahead of his visit to the region next week.

"We expect them to honor their commitments," Bush said in the interview with Israel's mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily.

"The Israeli government has said that they're going to get rid of unauthorized settlements, and that's what we expect. That's what we've been told," he said, according to an English-language transcript of the interview provided by the newspaper.

Asked whether he supported Israel retaining some of its large settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank under a final-status agreement, Bush said: "Both understand, as well, that I said conditions on the ground, the realities of the situation will help determine what... the borders look like."

"But the unauthorized settlements, which is different from authorized settlements, is an issue we've been very clear on."

Wildcat outposts are Israeli settlements established in the West Bank without government permission. The international community considers all Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land as illegal.

The issue of Israeli settlements is one of the most divisive issues of the decades-long Middle East conflict and has been the leading source of discord since the two sides revived peace talks after nearly a seven-year hiatus in late November.

Bush said he was embarking on his first trip to the region while president "to help boost the confidence of both parties to reach out for a vision."

"I'm also going to the Arab world.... to convince the Arab nations that Israel is a partner -- should be a partner in peace; that this vision is in the interests not only of Israel and the Palestinians, but it's in the interests of the Arab world."

"The American president can help move the process forward by reminding friends and allies in the Middle East about the importance of the two-state solution and what they can do to help."

Fatah Movement reiterated calls for Hamas to "turn over a new leaf" of relations whereby Hamas reconsider its "coup" and return to national dialogue.

The call came during a festival held in Ramallah to celebrate the occasion marking the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of the Fatah Movement.

US President George W. Bush has expressed his personal appreciation and admiration for The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and the role being played by him to support the peace process in the Middle East region.

"I personally appreciate the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques because he is a person whenever he speaks, everyone listens to him. Moreover, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz enjoys my personal respect as well as the respect of the Region's countries," President Bush said.

"King Abdullah is the Head of the state, which has a distinguished geographical location in the World. In addition, he is executing praise-worthy reforms. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been extending laudable role in serving the Holy sites," President Bush said.

The US President made these remarks in a statement during a meeting at the White House with an Arab press delegation, which is published today by Al-Riyadh and Alsharq Alawsat Arabic dailies. In the statement, President Bush also praised the participation of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Annapolis Conference.

"The decision of The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to send Prince Saud Alfaisal, the Foreign Minister to participate in the Conference was a 'strong Message' from the Saudi King in terms of the significance of this participation because peace is not only meant for Palestinians and Israelis, but it is also directed to encompass the entire Region," President Bush said.

The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques, who presented his initiative earlier, has been appreciated by us, which also shows true commitment to the Peace process. For this, I do appreciate and consider it a vital role in the Peace Process," The U.S. President said.

As regards security cooperation between the two Countries in combating terrorism, the President expressed his appreciation for this cooperation, citing the efforts being exerted by Saudi security organs and what it executed in dealing with the deviant group. He again reiterated his and other observers' admiration for the steady stand of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in confronting this deviant group.

President Bush stressed that the lasting Peace in The Region required recognition of the two states, adding that he will opt for all his personal efforts to resolve all pending problems pertaining to the establishment of the Two States before he leaves the White House.

In reply to a question about Lebanon, President Bush said the United States is committed to democracy in the country, expressing admiration for efforts exerted by the Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad al-Siniora. He also expressed his disappointment that the Lebanese people are still not able to elect their President.

As regards Iran's nuclear program, President Bush said that Washington favors the solution of this problem through diplomatic means, adding that he does not want the U.S. to be a country which desires isolation for others. "However, all options are still on the table," he said.

President Bush will visit Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in January, the White House announced.

Bush will meet with the leaders of the countries to push peace in the region.

“This visit will follow up on the progress made at Annapolis in helping Israelis and Palestinians to advance their efforts toward peace and achievement of the president’s vision of two democratic states living side by side in peace and security, as well as to encourage Israeli and Arab reconciliation,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters.

“We’re in communication with the leadership of those countries on a regular basis,” Perino said. “And the president said he's going to be committed to helping them continue to push forward so that they can realize what they have agreed on, which is a Palestinian state.”

Perino added that the visit will also highlight the U.S. commitment to helping its allies in the region and provide a forum for top-level talks on Iraq and Iran. However, the spokeswoman also noted that she does not anticipate that the president will visit Iraq while he is in the region.