08 February 2005	Tuesday	28 Zilhaj 1425

TEL AVIV, Feb 7: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas had both accepted invitations to visit the White House in the spring.

"I conveyed invitations from President George W. Bush to Prime Minister Sharon and Pres Abbas for meetings with him in the spring and each has accepted," Rice said at a press conference shortly before leaving for Italy.

It will be the first visit of a Palestinian leader to Washington since Bush came to power. Sharon last visited the White House in April last year on what was his ninth trip to Washington since taking office in March 2001.-AFP