By Xinhua
Jerusalem : Israeli lawmaker Yossi Beilin said Tuesday that the United States is planning a Middle East summit which is supposed to be a sequel to the Annapolis peace conference.
The summit will be held in May at the Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt and attended by U.S. President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and leaders of Egypt and Jordan, said the Member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
Palestinian officials confirm that Washington is planning the summit, which Beilin called a follow-up to the U.S.-hosted international peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland last November, Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reported.
He said the United States hopes the summit, to be held following Bush’s visit to Israel for celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state, will bring Israel and the Palestinians closer to reaching a permanent agreement on the core issues, after the two sides revived the long-stalled peace talks at the Annapolis summit and vowed to reach a peace agreement by the end of 2008.
Meanwhile, the veteran negotiator cautioned that the summit “will only be an illusory measure” and a peace deal is out of reach unless both negotiating teams speed up the pace of talks and achieve real progress, according to Israeli media reports.
“The window of opportunity will close at the end of 2008, and unless we make progress, we won’t be able to do a thing come 2009,”Israeli daily Ha’aretz quoted him as saying.