RAMALLAH, April 25 (JMCC) - US officials are planning to convene a summit on the Middle East peace process in June that would include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan's King Abdullah,
reports Haaretz.
The sources said that Turkey, Egypt and other Arab countries may also be invited to participate in the summit, though it’s not clear yet at what level. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the planned summit in his meetings in Istanbul this week with the Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministers as well as with Abbas.
The summit is also expected to be discussed at Friday’s White House meeting between Obama and King Abdullah, as well as in a mid-May Washington visit by Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. U.S. sources said that Israel is also aware of the plan.
The Administration, according to the sources, has yet to decide whether it will convene the summit in any case, or only if Kerry achieves a breakthrough that will allow a resumption of peace talks. Kerry has met with Abbas five times in recent weeks in an effort to circumvent the Palestinian leader’s insistence on a settlement freeze as a precondition to resuming negotiations.
The Administration is said to be contemplating a letter of invitation or “terms of reference” for the summit that will include the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which was reaffirmed by the Arab League meeting in Doha at the beginning of April, as well as the principle of “two states for two people” and a substantial economic package for the Palestinian Authority.