On July 16, U.S. President George W. Bush called for a Middle East peace conference this fall to be led by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and include Arabs, Israelis, and regional neighbors who support creation of an Arab state on Jewish land. Rice reiterated the meeting this past week while in the Middle East. She told Arab journalists in Ram'Allah, "This is to call people together so that we can really advance ... Palestinian [sic] statehood". Rice said that many of the leaders with whom she has met during her current four-day trip to the region, including Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, expressed a desire to see the fall meeting produce tangible progress towards the two-state solution. The secretary said Olmert "is ready to discuss fundamental issues that will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian [sic] state," and she urged the Israelis and Arabs to deepen their dialogue on these issues.