Bush talks with Saudi, Israeli heads on Mideast

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush spoke with Saudi and Israeli leaders on Friday about an agreement by rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to form a unity government, the White House said.

Bush discussed Iraq and Israeli-Palestinian developments with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, where the Palestinian groups struck the deal aimed at ending factional warfare in Gaza and easing an economic embargo on the Palestinian Authority.

He spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about “recent developments in Palestinian political affairs” and Iran, White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

Bush and Olmert also discussed coming meetings of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas scheduled in Jerusalem on Monday.

This wire story is intended, I think, to counter criticism appearing in some US media that implies that Bush is spending too much time on domestic politics, at the expense of the Middle East. It may also be to learn from King Abdullah what ‘side-agreements’ may have resulted during the Palestinian talks in Mecca earlier this week.