Mid-East summit aims at 'baby steps'

By Jon Leyne BBC state department correspondent

Israeli troops will slowly pull back

After two years of vicious confrontation and brutal fighting, the Israeli and Palestinian sides come to Wednesday's summit meeting in the Jordanian port of Aqaba with a remarkable degree of agreement - at least in the short term.

The two sides are expected to start putting into practice a number of steps to implement the peace plan known as the roadmap.

It is a highly detailed and complex process that means the word "breakthrough" is likely to have little meaning.

"Success is just getting something started," explained one adviser who has been working hard on the negotiations.

We are in the early stages, where we've got to get them to talk to one another at different levels

Colin Powell

Over the last few days two senior American officials - William Burns of the State department and Elliot Abrams of the White House - have been working with the two sides to draft statements they will issue, formally recognising each other's right to statehood.

Those could be delivered by the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas - commonly known as Abu Mazen - at the beginning of the meeting in Aqaba.

Even if that is all they achieve, it will probably be the start everyone is looking for.

The mutual declarations are the first step required by the roadmap.

At the same time the United States is expected to announce a co-ordinator, who will lead a small monitoring team, to help start implementing the more detailed provisions of the roadmap.

'Early stages'

"Don't think of it in terms of an envoy, with constant negotiations," explained the US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"We're not into negotiations yet. We are in the early stages, where we've got to get them to talk to one another at different levels."

Instead, under American guidance, the two sides will try to agree an action plan, under which Israeli troops will slowly pull back, as the Palestinians take over responsibility for security in the West Bank and Gaza.

Abu Mazen says he cannot guarantee security

Strangely, it is the Palestinian side urging caution.

Abu Mazen admits openly he does not have the capacity yet to guarantee security.

So the first Israeli pull-back will probably cover only parts of Gaza, while security officials on both sides agree to resume regular contacts.

The Palestinians will also be looking for steps that will enable economic life to revive in their areas.

Then there is the ever-thorny issue of settlements.

Under phase one of the roadmap, Israel is required immediately to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001.

The plan also calls for a settlement freeze at some stage during the first phase.

Building momentum

Deciding the meaning of those clauses, though, could occupy many more than the few hours the leaders have together in Aqaba.

One former state department official said wearily that they had been trying to define and implement a settlement freeze for 20 years.

So for the moment the aim here, as in much else in this process, will be to avoid open differences.

Instead, watch for an unilateral decision by Israel to pull back some of the illegal settler outposts.

The issue of Jerusalem is expected to be agreed upon by 2005

The strategy throughout will be on agreeing "baby steps" that increase confidence and improve the quality of life on the Israeli and Palestinian sides.

The other, clear goal is to build up the standing of the new Palestinian prime minister.

Yasser Arafat, of course, remains isolated back home in Ramallah. Subdued, say aides, but definitely not sulking.

All of this is an attempt to put more momentum into the process, and to build a reserve of credibility for when violence, or the really tough issues that lie ahead, behind to cloud this unnaturally blue sky.