ARAB AFFAIRS - June 19 - Cairo & Amman Reject Provisional Palestinian State.

Following talks in Amman between Egyptian Pres. Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah, Egyptian FM Ahmad Maher rejects the idea of a provisional Palestinian state, telling reporters in Cairo: "This proposal means that today such a state exists, but tomorrow it might not. It's incomprehensible and no one has ever heard of such a thing". (The idea of a provisional Palestinian state is one of the possibilities US Pres. Bush is mulling over for a proposed Middle East plan he is to announce this week. Bush was expected to give his address on June 18, but it was delayed because of the suicide bombing in Israel - see Arabs-Israel. Reports from Washington suggested the US administration is wrestling with several ideas, including the creation of some kind of "interim" Palestinian state without borders. Officials in Washington said the proposal is intended to give hope to the Palestinians and encourage them to end the violence). An Arab official said: "We are worried. We want to make sure the [Bush's] speech defines the endgame and the timeline. For Bush to say that Palestinians can get a provisional state and all the details will come later is not a good idea". Earlier this week Saudi FM Saud Al Faisal held talks in Egypt. Pres. Hosni Mubarak travelled to Damascus on June 19 for a summit with Syrian Pres. Bashar Al Assad.