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EILAT — Concern about the slow pace of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations prompted Jordan's King Abdullah to make his first state visit to Israel since ascending the throne last year.

Steering his royal yacht from the Jordanian resort of Aqaba to the neighboring Israeli resort of Eilat, Abdullah traveled to Israel Sunday for a four-hour visit.

He was accompanied by his Palestinian wife, Queen Rania, and was greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak at a red carpet ceremony at an Israeli naval base in Eilat.

Abdullah urged Barak to continue his attempt to trade land for peace with the Palestinians.

"Land for peace has been accepted by all parties since 1991 and must continue to guide us wherever obstacles in the process emerge," Abdullah said.

He added that he is hopeful there will be a breakthrough this year in the talks, which he said would give Palestinians "the justice they seek" and Israelis "the security they desire."

Jordan has a large stake in those negotiations, which include what to do with Palestinian refugees and setting the final borders of Israel and a Palestinian state.

More than half of Jordan's population comes from Palestinian families who fled there during Israel's 1948 War of Independence. The final peace agreement Israel and the Palestinians are trying to reach will have a deep impact on Jordan's domestic politics.

Abdullah said the door must be kept open and the sides must keep trying for peace. "We have heard recently some very positive signs from both the Israeli and the Syrians camps," he said.

Barak said Israel considers Jordan a cornerstone in efforts to achieve regional peace. "Israel views this current stage as a historic opportunity to arrive at a comprehensive and lasting peace with all its neighbors, and we perceive Jordan as a full partner and a cornerstone of this enterprise."

But the circumstances of the trip weren't perfect. The king's stay was shorter than planned, and the two leaders did not hold a joint news conference after their discussions.

Israel Television broadcast an interview in which Abdullah said Jerusalem should serve as a capital for both Israel and the Palestinians.

"I believe on the political levels that Jerusalem has enough room for a Palestinian and an Israeli capital," he said hours before departing for Israel. "On the religious side, I believe that Jerusalem should be a city for all of us, an open city."

Abdullah added, "There is room to maneuver still and we should not lose that opportunity…It would be a tragedy to give up, I believe it is imperative that we look at this situation with great optimism."

Israel and the Palestinians have been working to reach a framework for a final peace accord by next month, with the aim of completing the accord itself by a Sept. 13 deadline.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators say they do not expect to meet the May deadline for reaching the framework agreement.

After holding two rounds of meetings recently near Washington, the two sides are slated to begin a new round of talks Sunday in Eilat.

The negotiators still have to resolve issues left over from previous agreements, including an additional Israeli withdrawal from portions of the West Bank and the opening of a second safe-passage route for Palestinians traveling between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A first route opened last year.

In addition, the two sides must tackle a host of difficult final-status issues, including the Palestinian refugee question, Jewish settlements and Jerusalem.

Abdullah had previously planned to visit Israel, but postponed those trips because of tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian talks.

In addition to the peace track, he and Barak discussed trade and tourism projects including a joint Eilat-Aqaba airport, in meetings with government ministers from both countries.

Israel Radio reported that in talks with Regional Development Minister Shimon Peres, the Jordanian officials expressed disappointment with the lack of progress in their planned joint economic projects.