Israel's Olmert meets Jordan king over West Bank

AMMAN, June 8 (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met Jordan's King Abdullah today in a visit aimed at reassuring him that plans to reshape the occupied West Bank would not destabilise the Hashemite Kingdom.

Jordan is pressing Israel to resume peace talks with the Palestinians and is worried about the consequences of chaos on its doorstep should the Jewish state unilaterally impose final borders in the West Bank.

Jordan, which has a large Palestinian population, also has strained ties with Hamas, an Islamic militant group that now runs the Palestinian government.

''A strong and stable Jordan is a vital national security interest of Israel,'' Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.

Jordanian officials have said Abdullah would urge Olmert at the meeting in Amman to avoid unilateralism and revive talks with the Palestinians under the US-backed peace ''road map''.

Abdullah said in an interview published this week that Jordan's ties with Israel could be harmed if Olmert went ahead with his unilateral blueprint.

Jordan is one of only two of Israel's Arab neighbours to have full peace treaties with Israel. The other is Egypt.

Both regard the road map as a viable plan for a lasting settlement. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians have met their commitments under the road map, which was drawn up in 2002.

Israel plans to draw final borders with the Palestinians by 2010 if peace talks remain frozen. Olmert's plan involves uprooting remote Jewish settlements in the West Bank while strengthening larger enclaves behind a fortified border.

The Palestinians reject Olmert's unilateral ideas, saying such moves would deny them the viable state they seek in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

''We will assure Jordan that anything Israel will do ... that will likely have an effect on Jordan will be coordinated with them,'' said another senior Israeli official.

Jordan has also reacted warily to Hamas's rise to power after it won parliamentary elections in January.

In April, Jordanian officials accused Hamas of plotting to stage attacks on its soil using smuggled weapons, including Iranian rocket launchers. Hamas has denied the accusations and said it wanted good relations with Amman.

Jordanian officials privately support US-led efforts to isolate the Palestinian government until Hamas embraces West Asia eacemaking. Hamas seeks Israel's destruction.

''Jordan is afraid that if Olmert withdraws from most of the West Bank then Hamas will control the West Bank and use this to destabilise Jordan,'' said an Israeli political source.

REUTERS KD BST1652