ISRAELI and Palestinian leaders are under growing pressure to agree on common ground ahead of a Middle East peace conference in Washington later this year.

The talks, expected in November and billed as the most significant on American soil since the Camp David meeting of 2000, are viewed as an attempt by President George W Bush to build a lasting peace in the region before he leaves office in 18 months’ time.

America is trying to draw on support from the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Jordan and Egypt. The backing of countries such as Saudi Arabia and the oil-rich states in the Gulf will be vital for the talks’ success.

Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state who is expected to chair the talks, is putting pressure on Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, to agree on the core issues ahead of a “substantive and meaningful” summit. The talks hinge on the division of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees after Israel was created in 1948 and Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank.

“The US is pushing harder than ever for a Palestinian-Israeli solution as part of its global approach to the Middle East,” said a US official involved in the talks.

Serious negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians last took place in the summer of 2000 between Ehud Barak, then the Israeli prime minister, and Yasser Arafat, then the Palestinian leader.

Both sides blamed each other for the summit’s failure which led to a four-year Palestinian intifada. Sources close to Olmert say he will push for a deal involving Israeli withdrawal from 95% of the West Bank and a land exchange with the Palestinians for the remaining 5%. The concessions suggest that Olmert, a lifelong advocate of a “greater Israel”, has moderated his views. “Something happened to Olmert and now he’s willing to go all the way to solve the Palestinian issue,” said one insider.

Abbas faces similar domestic political challenges after Hamas took control of the Gaza strip earlier this year. “If Israel does not give Abbas the entire West Bank in which to establish the state of Palestine, it’s only a matter of time before Hamas takes over the West Bank as well,” said one Israeli analyst.

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