[Ha'aretz] Aluf Benn - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had wanted to use her trip to Jordan next week to jump-start Israeli-Palestinian talks by inviting Prime Minister Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas to a meeting, but the idea was shelved due to the Palestinians' ongoing failure to establish a unity government, Israeli government sources said. President Bush unexpectedly announced he would be joining Rice on her Jordan trip, mainly to reassure a key American ally in the region that the U.S. will not execute a hasty withdrawal from Iraq.
2006-11-24 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive