JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday he “would not hesitate” to take part in a regional Arab peace summit amid intense US efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.

A four-way meeting with Israel, Palestinians, Arab moderates and the Middle East peace Quartet, which includes the European Union, the United Nations, United States and Russia has reportedly been at the centre of discussions between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and regional leaders during her tour.

“If such an invitation would come my way, I would look at it in a very positive way,” Olmert told a joint press conference with UN chief Ban Ki-moon in Jerusalem.

“Assuming I would get a visa, I would not hesitate to participate.”

Ban, who is also on a swing through the region, said such a summit was “a very interesting and useful idea to consider but we need more consultations.”

Olmert’s comments come as Rice was in Jordan for meetings with King Abdullah II and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on the third leg of a tour that has already included talks with Arab moderates in Egypt and an initial round of consultations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Rice was due to hold a press conference after returning to Jerusalem later on Monday and holding talks with Olmert for the second time in as many days.

A senior US official travelling with Rice confirmed that a four-way summit bringing together Israel and the so-called Arab quartet — Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates — was under consideration. He said such a meeting was “a good idea” but added “it’s a little premature.”

The official said it remained uncertain whether countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have no formal ties with the Jewish state, would agree to attend a summit with Israeli leaders.

Olmert, who is battling plummeting ratings in Israeli opinion polls, reportedly met privately with a senior Saudi official late last year.

Israel and Arab moderates, however, have been staking out common ground in recent days, including broadening support for a five-year old Arab peace initiative first floated in 2002 by then Saudi crown prince Abdullah.

At Monday’s press conference, Olmert heaped praise on Abdullah, who is now king.

“I think the Saudi initiative is a very interesting and challenging manifestation of the leadership qualities and responsibility of King Abdullah,” Olmert said.

The Saudi plan calls for full Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state, Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territory occupied in the 1967 Six Day War and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

Although Israel spurned the initiative when it was initially proposed, officials in the Jewish state have recently said it could serve as a basis for negotiations provided the clause granting Palestinian refugees the right of return is dropped.

“If moderate Arab countries try to advance the process along the lines of the Saudi initiative I will look at it as a very positive development,” Olmert said.

The initiative is one of the top items at an Arab summit being held in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the blueprint offers “the best way of reaching a just and comprehensive solution not just to the Palestinian problem but to all aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict.”

Khaled Meshaal, political supremo of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas reportedly told Saud during a recent visit to Riyadh that Hamas was also ready to back the plan.

Although Olmert has denounced the new Palestinian government which unites Hamas and Abbas’s moderate Fatah party as an obstacle to peace, Saudi Arabia said the unity deal increases the chances of winning Arab support for peace with Israel.