Israelis and Palestinians yesterday welcomed US President George W. Bush's proposal for a regional peace conference, but expressed vastly different visions for what the gathering would produce.

Palestinian officials said they hoped the meeting would jump-start peace talks aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state. Israel said it is premature to talk about a final peace settlement.

On Monday, Bush called for a peace conference in the fall aimed at restarting peace talks between the two sides, calling it a "moment of choice" in the Middle East. US officials expressed hope that Arab countries, including moderate nations that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, would attend.

The exact date and location of the conference remains unknown, as does its agenda and participants. Amid such uncertainty, Israeli and Palestinian analysts were skeptical about whether the meeting would accomplish anything concrete.

The gathering is aimed at giving an international boost of support to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces were recently routed by the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip. With international backing, Abbas now heads an emergency government based in the West Bank. Hamas remains isolated in Gaza.

Palestinian officials said Bush spoke to Abbas by telephone for 40 minutes on Monday to discuss the conference.

"We welcome this call, particularly in light of the re-emphasized US commitment toward a meaningful peace process, that leads to an end of the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview. "The call for an international conference to help in pushing this process forward."

In Israel's latest gesture to Abbas, a ministerial committee yesterday approved plans for the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners. The release is expected to take place on Friday. Israel also recently has channeled more than US$100 million in frozen Palestinian tax funds to Abbas and offered amnesty to dozens of Fatah gunmen who renounced violence.

Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, also welcomed the conference, saying it provided an opportunity to bring together all those who are truly interested in peace in the Middle East.

But she said it is too early to talk about full-fledged peace talks as long as Palestinian violence against Israel continues. A final settlement would require agreement on such contentious issues as final borders, the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees and the status of disputed Jerusalem.

"Israel has been very clear. We don't think at this stage you can talk about final status issues, but such a meeting would certainly add to the capability of arriving at the core issues," she said.

Still, she said, Israel thinks "the best solution for Israel is Palestine. We need to have a two-state solution, not one state, or Israel ruling over them."

Both Israel and the Palestinians said they have not yet received key details about the conference but expect to learn more when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits the region next month.

Jacob Walles, the US consul-general in Jerusalem, met with Abbas yesterday to discuss Bush's plans. "We discussed how we are going to follow up on the speech. we are going to be working very hard," he said.

In Gaza, Hamas rejected the Bush proposal, calling it a "crusade" against the Palestinian people. Isolated in Gaza, and facing a crackdown in the West Bank, it remains unclear how or whether Hamas would try to undermine the conference.

(China Daily via agencies July 18, 2007)