 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with Jordanian King Abdullah, their first talks in months in a further sign of warming relations between the Jewish state and the Arab world after Israelâs Gaza withdrawal. The meeting, on the sidelines of the UN summit, was Israelâs latest diplomatic reward for ending its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip â its first evacuation of territory Palestinians claim for a future state. In just two weeks, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia have held high-level public meetings with Israel â a rare event for Muslim countries â and Sharon has received particular praise at the UN summit for the Gaza pullout, deemed a âcourageousâ act by US President George W. Bush as well as Pakistanâs president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. |