The upcoming Middle East peace conference will provide the impetus for final status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here, according to a report of the Press Trust of India (PTI). Ban will attend the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis next week, being convened by the US President George.W. Bush in an effort to revive the stalled peace process and resolve six-decade old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But in a briefing to an informal meeting of the General Assembly, Ban said he remains concerned over the prevailing humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where the economy has deteriorated since border crossings into Israel were closed earlier this year in response to intra-Palestinian fighting. The Gaza strip is controlled by Hamas which does not recognize Israel. Bush has invited 40 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria, to the conference which will be a major test for the diplomatic skills of the administration especially Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has been in the forefront of the American efforts to find a solution to the vexed problem. Bush has begun extensive discussions with the Middle Eastern leaders and has already spoken to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It is as yet unclear as to how many countries would attend the meeting.
