Summit on Israeli-Palestinian settlement to be held Wednesday in Aqaba

A summit on Israeli-Palestinian settlement is to be held Wednesday in Aqaba, a Jordanian port on the Red Sea. Taking part in it will be U.S. President George Bush, King of Jordan Abdallah II, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).

Observers expect no surprises at the summit, as the Americans had worked on the entire scenario of the upcoming meetings, and highly placed White House and State Department spokesmen had been sent to the Middle East well in advance and had several meetings with Ariel Sharon and Abu Mazen.

The Israeli Prime Minister is expected to announce in Aqaba his intention to eliminate a few checkpoints in the settlements.

Abu Mazen, for his part, will probably speak in favor of ending terrorist acts against Israelis. The Palestinian Prime Minister has been conducting difficult talks on the issue with the leaders of radical organizations for a few weeks now.

Before the meeting in Aqaba the Israeli army and police have been alerted. Radio repeatedly reports warns concerning intentions of the radicals to commit yet another bloody terrorist act. Leaves and upgrading courses have been cancelled for Israeli police and army officers.