Bush to meet Sharon, Abbas to push peace

President Bush plans to hold his first meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Wednesday, traveling to Jordan to lend his personal prestige to jump-starting the stalled peace process.

Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat was not invited to the summit and has expressed frustration that he is being marginalized by the White House. Mr. Bush recently withheld release of a U.S.-backed “road map” for peace until Mr. Arafat grudgingly installed a new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, who will attend the summit.

The meeting is being touted as a “hopeful moment” by White House officials who say they are encouraged that the peace plan has been accepted by both sides. But they caution that the summit, which also will be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, is contingent upon both parties doing everything in their power to avert violence.

“It’s full speed ahead unless something takes it off rail,” said White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. “The problem in the Middle East is, hopeful moments can get derailed.”

Asked whether a terrorist attack would derail the summit, Mr. Fleischer said, “I don’t even want to speculate or hypothetically go down that road.”

The meeting will be preceded by a separate summit on Tuesday in Egypt, where Mr. Bush will pressure Arab leaders to stop violence in the region. The president will cut short his stay at an economic conference in France to travel to the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el Sheik and huddle with Mr. Abbas and the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain.

“The president is expecting a solid expression of support not only for the road map, but of the Arab leaders to help the Palestinian Authority as they restore their security capacity, their security organizations,” Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said.

Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy said that to crack down effectively on terrorism, Palestinian security forces need to accomplish four things.

“They need to be able to show the Palestinian people a political dividend from the Israelis,” he said. “They need to be empowered by an Israeli military withdrawal from the areas where they will patrol.

“They need assets — people and equipment — because the infrastructure has been destroyed. And they need time to develop institutions and legitimacy.”

The president’s decision to insert himself so directly into Middle East peace negotiations is a major departure from his previous posture. Unlike President Clinton, who hosted Mr. Arafat at the White House more than any other foreign leader, Mr. Bush has steadfastly refused to meet with Mr. Arafat. He has spoken by phone with him only once, just weeks after taking office.

But now that the president has begun efforts to sweep Mr. Arafat from the world stage, he is demonstrating a new willingness to engage the Palestinians. This month, Mr. Bush has met with the Palestinian finance minister and spoken by phone with Mr. Abbas.

“The president has always said that when he thought he could give a little impetus to what is going to be a very long and difficult process, that he would do so,” said National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. “This is a new opportunity for peace at the end of the war in Iraq and particularly with changes in the Palestinian leadership.”

But Miss Rice was careful to keep expectations for the summit low.

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