Jordan Urges Us to Speed Peace Process

King Abdullah of Jordan today said the United States should abandon "confidence building" between Israel and the Arab world and put its weight behind a Palestinian state.

But as the king looked towards peace in the region, the conflict continued as Israeli troops raided a suspected Hamas base in Nablus, and the siege of 200 Palestinians - including around 35 gunmen - in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity entered its second month.

Orthodox Christians marked a sombre Good Friday as the Israeli army prepared to lift a curfew over the heavily Christian Palestinian villages of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour that adjoin Bethlehem, to allow the residents to attend church services.

In the hope of maintaining the momentum towards a deal started with the release of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, yesterday from his compound the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, announced an international peace conference for early summer.

King Abdullah, who is visiting Washington over the next few days, said negotiations had to give the Israelis and Palestinians "what they want in their hearts" - a Palestinian state and security for Israel in the Middle East.

Jordan is only one of two Arab states that has signed a peace treaty with Israel and has a large Palestinian population within its borders.

"Violence continues until we give the people the prizes, not the light at the end of the tunnel - that is too far away," the king told the Radio 4 Today programme.

"There will always be extremists and somebody who is ready to exercise terror.

"That's why I believe we should go straight to the end of the book, as opposed to taking our time getting there, because extremists from either side will hijack any initiative we may make."

Critics of the gradualist approach adopted under the Oslo process, which envisaged a step-by-step progress to a Palestinian state, point out it has been vulnerable to being derailed by extremists.

"For the last period of time, we have had a peace process in which the process has been long and the peace never arrived," King Abdullah added.

His proposal was backed by the EU's high representative for foreign policy, Javier Solana, who has recently held talks with President George Bush.

Mr Solana said it was hoped to convene an international conference early in June to hammer out a framework that would satisfy the aspirations of both Israel and the Palestinians.

Heavy gunfire erupted early this morning in Nablus when Israeli forces converged on a three-storey building on the edge of the old city, which was the scene of fierce fighting last month between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen.

In addition to one Hamas militant who was killed, two others were wounded and being treated for their injuries in hiding, sources said.

The army confirmed the death of one Israeli soldier, and said two others were injured, one seriously and one less so.

A second Palestinian, a policeman, was reported killed in a clash with Israeli troops in another part of the city.

The targeted building was in Nablus' main commercial district, and about 16 surrounding shops were destroyed in the fighting, residents said.

They said they cowered in inner rooms of their apartments as the Israelis fired tank shells and heavy machine guns.

The army said two bomb factories were found in the building, as well as a car full of weapons.

Meanwhile, Israeli and Palestinian officials responded positively to the announcement of a Middle East peace conference.

Arnon Perlman, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said a regional conference was Mr Sharon's idea. "If that's what we're talking about that's very good," he said.

The Palestinian information minister, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said the Palestinian leadership would study the proposal.

"In general, what Secretary Powell has said was positive, and what is important now is to see a practical implementation of what he said," he said.