UPDATED Israel-Palestine: US Invites Both Sides to Direct Talks on 2 September

UPDATE 1600 GMT: Sherine Tadros of Al Jazeera English reports that the Palestinian Authority has accepted the invitation.

After 24 hours priming the press, the Obama Administration --- through Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and special envoy George Mitchell --- has formally invited the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority to Washington on 2 September on direct talks.

Clinton, addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas, stated, "There have been difficulties in the past, there will be difficulties ahead....I ask the parties to persevere, to keep moving forward even through difficult times and to continue working to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region."

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Netanyahu has already welcomed the invitation.

Clinton said Obama will have bilateral meetings with Netanyahu, Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Jordan's King Abdullah on 1 September 1 before a dinner with all  of them. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the representative of the Middle East Quartet (US, UN, European Union, Russia), will also be present at the launch.

The US Government has not mentioned any preconditions on the talks, such as a continued moratorium on expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and a halt to construction in East Jerusalem. Hamas and the political leadership in Gaza have not been invited to the discussions.

MENA House: "Iranian" Rockets Used in Attacks on Israel and Jordan

On Monday, Red Sea ports in Israel and Jordan suffered rocket attacks killing one man and wounding six other people wounded.

Reports say a rocket exploded outside the Intercontinental Hotel in the Jordanian city of Aqaba, 300 km (185 miles) south of Amman. Five were injured, with taxi driver Subhi Yousef al-Alawneh dying of his wounds.

One rocket struck the Israeli city of Eilat; however, there were no casualties reported. Three others landed in the sea off Israel and Jordan.

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Condemning the Attack

Ali Ayed, Jordan's information minister described the attacks as a "terrorist and criminal act, which serves shady agendas, is strongly condemned....Jordan will always fight terrorism and terrorists."

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on the telephone with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah on Monday about the incidents.

"The attacks perpetrated on innocent citizens of Jordan and Israel were carried out by terrorists that want to thwart the peace process," Netanyahu said in a statement .

A spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign affairs asserted that the rocket attacks "were not an attack on Israel but rather, an attack on the region bringing about instability".  He blamed Hezbullah and Hamas, saying that the rockets were unlikely to come from Egypt, contrary to speculation.

Rockets Made by Iran?

Eilat police found that the rockets were "Grad-type Katyushas" made in Iran, witha range of around 20 kilometers and weighing 6 kilograms each.

Egyptian officials denied the rockets came from their territory: "No rockets were launched from the Sinai.  To launch rockets from Egypt, it takes equipment and complicated logistical preparations. It is impossible, since the Sinai Peninsula has heavy security."

BBC Arabic reported that Egyptian security forces were scouring the area around Taba and Nuweiba, but had found no sign of a rocket launch.

The day before the attacks, Xinhua reported that Egyptian security had blocked off ten openings of secret tunnels at borders with the Gaza Strip; located in a residential area north of Rafah crossing.


Egyptians in Aqaba

The rocket in Aqaba landed 300 metres from the Egyptian Consulate.  No one from the Consulate or the Egyptian community in Aqaba, estimated at around 20,000, was injured.