WASHINGTON - In inviting Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas to the White House Thursday, US President George W. Bush has signaled his desire to renew high level ties with the Palestinians at a critical time in the Middle East peace process.
These relations have been marked by mistrust since Bush's coming to power in 2001.
The US president never welcomed Abbas's predecessor, the late Yasser Arafat, to the White House and even cut off all contact with him.
The election of Abbas to the Palestinian top post in January, however, has changed the situation. Abbas, who arrived here late Tuesday along with a Palestinian delegation, had already been received at the White House in the summer of 2003, when he was Palestinian prime minister.
As soon as he began his second term in January, Bush invited Abbas to return to Washington in his new capacity of president, placing him on the same level with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a traditional US ally.
Sharon was received by the US president in April at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, but their talks were marked by polite disagreement over Jewish settlements on the West Bank.
The Israeli prime minister was making a private visit to Washington this week, but did not meet with Bush.
However, he used his presence here to promise to free 400 Palestinian prisoners, whose release was supposed to take place under the Sharm el-Sheikh agreements.
During their talks, Bush and Abbas will discuss Israel's upcoming pullout from Gaza and some settlements in the West Bank, which is scheduled to begin in August.
This initiative is not part of the "roadmap" produced by the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. However, it is being showcased by both the Israelis and Americans as a true chance to reach peace in the region.
The "roadmap" details steps that are expected to lead eventually to the creation of a Palestinian state, an event that was supposed to take place this year but was postponed by Bush until 2008, the last year of his second term.
The Palestinians would like the plan to be relaunched after Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
Since Abbas's election as president, the level of violence in the region has dropped considerably, but the situation remains tense.
The Palestinian president "comes with a couple of accomplishments behind him, something to show for what he has done and I think he wants to sit down with the president and talk about the way forward," said a US administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said the date of Abbas's visit to Washington had been chosen by the Palestinians, following an invitation from the White House.
Legislative elections are expected to take place in the Palestinian territories in July, but they could be postponed until a new election law takes effect.
Washington is closely monitoring these elections because they may result in the strengthening of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas considered a terrorist organization here.
Buoyed by its success in recent municipal elections, Hamas is against any postponement of the vote and enjoys broad popular support.
Economic development in the Palestinian territories will also be on the agenda of the Bush-Abbas talks.
In January, the Bush administration promised the Palestinians 200 million dollars in economic aid, and the Palestinians want to make sure the money is delivered quickly.
05/25/2005 10:31 GMT