Seven years since he was elected to office, US President George W. Bush is finally responding to critics who have accused him of ignoring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But expectations are so low, that analysts are struggling to define just what Annapolis is. Is it a summit, a peace conference, or merely a “get-together” as a White House press spokesman helpfully informed struggling journalists?

Expectations have risen with the announcement that high-level officials from the Arab contact group, including Arab powerhouse Saudi Arabia, are attending the meeting. There are hopes that the Arab contingent will reactivate a peace initiative launched by Saudi Arabia last year.

But Israel has refused to include binding agreements on any of the core issues: settlements and the status of Jerusalem and of Palestinian refugees.

And the Palestinians are divided between the secular Fatah party under President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamic Hamas movement, which controls Gaza.

Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US and the European Union, has not been invited to the Annapolis talks. The reasons for its omission are clear: Hamas refuses to renounce violence, recognise Israel and agree to abide by past peace deals. But without Hamas at the table, as a senior Hamas official told FRANCE 24, “it’s like inviting people to a wedding while the bride is not there.”