US President George W Bush will hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mr Mahmud Abbas next week in Jordan.
The two Middle East leaders delayed talks due to take place tomorrow after the long-anticipated move was confirmed.
Israel's unprecedented recognition of Palestinians' right to statehood by accepting the so-called roadmap on Sunday, cleared the way for the meeting likely to be held on June 5th.
The road map, drawn up by the European Union, United States, United Nations and Russia proposes the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
Mr Bush is expected to meet leaders from Arab countries the day before his talks with Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas.
Jordanian Information Mr Minister Mohammed Adwan said consultations were currently underway to set the date for both summits.
"The first [will be] in Sharm el-Sheikh [Egypt] between President Bush and several Arab leaders, including His Majesty King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak," Mr Adwan told Jordan's Petra official news agency.
"Jordan will host in Aqaba, in the presence of King Abdullah, the second summit which will bring together President Bush, Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon," he added.
Egypt's state-run news agency MENA reported earlier that the first summit would be held on June 4th and followed by the Bush-Sharon-Abbas meeting the next day.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco, King Hamad of Bahrain, Jordan's King Abdullah and Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia would also attend the summit in Egypt, the newsagency added.
Syrian Foreign Minister Mr Faruq al-Shara left open the possibility of his country taking part in the US-Arab meeting, stressing that "the roadmap ... has to address the Lebanese and Syrian tracks".
Mr Sharon's cabinet narrowly approved the roadmap on Sunday but ministers coupled the vote with a resolution denying Palestinian refugees' the right of return to their homes which they lost when Israel was created in 1948.
Mr Sharon faced down rightwing critics in his Likud party yesterday, making a rare use of the word "occupation" to describe Israel's activities in the Palestinian Territories; saying he would make every effort to reach a political settlement.
"I think that the idea of keeping 3.5 million Palestinians under occupation is the worst thing for Israel, for the Palestinians and also for the Israeli economy," he was quoted as saying.
But the hawkish premier backtracked on his unusual wording today with a statement issued by his office that said "he meant that we do not want to rule over the Palestinian population in the areas in dispute".
Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas had planned to meet tomorrow but the talks were delayed for "technical reasons" and "will take place in the next 48 hours," Palestinian sources said.
Israeli government sources said the deferment was due to scheduling problems on the Palestinian side linked to Spanish Foreign Minister Ms Ana Palacio's visit to the region.
The troubles afflicting the region since the Palestinian intifadaresumed 32 months ago were in evidence again today when Israeli troops shot dead a teenage Palestinian in the northern West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarem and critically wounded a seven-year-old boy.
Also in the West Bank, Israeli tanks raided the refugee camp the northern town of Jenin, while in the Gaza Strip, two home-made Qassam rockets, known to be manufactured by the hardline Islamic group Hamas, were fired at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. There were no injuries.
AFP