The US has suggested changes to the Egyptian-Jordanian peace initiative, but Jordan thinks the changes are unnecessary, Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb said on Monday.
Jordan would like the US to play a more active role in bringing an end to Israeli-Palestinian clashes, he said after talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The Egyptian-Jordanian initiative, coupled with a report on the violence by the Mitchell commission, are the main vehicles for current diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting and bring the Israelis and Palestinians back to peace talks.
They include a cease-fire, an Israeli withdrawal to previous troop positions, implementation of old interim agreements, and a resumption of talks on a permanent agreement.
The Palestinians have welcomed the proposals but Israel objected to at least two aspects -- that they require an end to the expansion of Jewish settlements and that peace talks would resume at the point where they left off.
"The (US) administration now is looking into the Jordanian-Egyptian initiative and they believe there are some wordings to be adjusted," Abu Ragheb said, cited by Haaretz.
"We feel such change of wordings is not that essential because the concept is the most important thing."
In his daily briefing, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States supported the efforts of Egypt and Jordan. "We have found their involvement to be positive and commendable. Obviously we'll keep talking to them."
DEMANDS FOR US INVOLVEMENT
The Jordanian prime minister joined a succession of visiting Arab leaders to call on Washington to be more active as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, said the agency.
"We feel that the United States' role is a crucial one. We would like to see the United States more active in the politics of this issue," he told reporters.
Powell has repeatedly said the United States was deeply engaged in Middle East diplomacy, but Boucher said he did not know of any phone calls Powell had made over the last few days of intense violence, which culminated in the killing of five Palestinian policeman by Israeli troops on Monday.
Powell, speaking in an interview with CNN on Monday, called the reports of violence "very disturbing" and urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to show restraint.
Powell and his subordinates have made appeals for restraint over the past three months but have not offered any proposals of their own on how to end the violence, according to the agency.
He did not comment directly on the killing of five Palestinian policemen by Israeli troops, saying he did not have the details and there was confusion about the incident.
"But we will speak out to both sides, encouraging both of them to do everything they can to reduce the level of violence...Both parties should take this opportunity to speak in moderate terms and not to do anything which raises the level of tension in the region," he said.
Boucher criticized the Palestinians for mortar attacks on Israel, and the Israelis for military incursions into Palestinian-ruled areas. He called the incursions "a serious escalation that can only worsen a volatile situation".
Abu Ragheb, meanwhile, criticized Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, saying his statements on Jerusalem and Jewish settlement "do not help build confidence."
"The notion that violence will be stopped by violence is a vicious circle. That will only be achieved by complete determination to deal with it by finding ways out for everyone," the prime minister added.
Boucher confirmed that Powell will meet on Tuesday with Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Abu Mazen, who took part in the secret Oslo negotiations in 1993, will be the highest ranking PLO official to meet a member of the Bush administration in Washington – Albawaba.com
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