Gordon Brown makes surprise stop in Israel after visiting troops in Iraq

The Prime Minister flew into Tel Aviv tonight ahead of two days of talks with political leaders and the Palestinian authority.

He was immediately transferred to Jerusalem, where he will stay during his trip.

During his stay in the Middle East, Mr Brown will hold talks with Israeli president Shimon Peres and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Gordon Brown meets British troops during a surprise visit today

Aides said he would be discussing barriers to investment in the occupied territories and also Britain's trade link with Israel.

He will also be discussing ways to take forward the progress in the peace process made at a conference hosted by US President George Bush in Annapolis last November.

Earlier today Mr Brown called on British troops in Basra to bring the UK's work in Iraq to its conclusion.

In a speech to soldiers in the blistering heat of southern Iraq, the Prime Minister held out the prospect of an end to British involvement in the country five-and-a-half years after the invasion.

Talks: Gordon Brown and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Maliki discussed troop levels in Iraq during their meeting today

Mr Brown (rear left) talks with his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki (rear centre) and other delegates during the meeting in Baghdad

His upbeat comments came at the end of a lightning visit to Iraq, during which he assessed the prospects for the drawdown of troops with the military and Iraqi leaders.

Mr Brown refused to set an "artificial timetable" for troop withdrawals after talks in Baghdad with Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki and president Jalal Talabani.

But he insisted dramatic progress had been made in the time since his last visit in December, with violent incidents in the Basra area down from six a day to one every six days.

Arrival: The Prime Minister flew into Baghdad on a Super Puma helicopter

As he prepared to depart the country this afternoon, he told British troops at Basra Air Station: 'You are now working with the Iraqi forces to train them up so that they can take over their responsibilities, so that we can complete our work here to bring Basra to democracy, security and prosperity.'

He went on to praise the professionalism, dedication and courage of the 4,000-strong British force in Iraq.

Thanking them for their efforts, he said: 'Your work with the Iraqi armed forces is going to make a huge difference to the long term.'

Meeting: He went on to meet Iraqi President Jalal Talabani

Speaking to reporters in Baghdad this morning, Mr Brown said it was his intention to reduce UK troop numbers in the country, but declined to set a timetable for them to come home.

His caution contrasted with his visit to Iraq last autumn, when he announced that troop numbers would be reduced to 2,500 from the spring - a move which had to be postponed due to an escalation in clashes between Iraqi government troops and militias in the Basra area.

Today, the Prime Minister stressed that troop withdrawals will depend on the achievement of key objectives on the ground, including the handover of the Basra airport to Iraqi civilian control.

The head of Britain's armed forces, Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, this week said he expected a 'substantial change in our mission in Iraq' early in 2009 and was "confident" of a reduction in the UK commitment over the course of next year.

Asked about the prospect for withdrawals, Mr Brown said: 'It is certainly our intention that we reduce troop numbers, but I am not going  to give an artificial timetable at the moment.'

The Prime Minister said "enormous progress" had been made in Iraq over the last few months and paid tribute to the contribution of UK forces.

'I want to congratulate them on their professionalism, on their resilience and on their courage,' he said.

Mr Brown said there were four main objectives he wanted to see met in Iraq - the training of local army and police; local elections being held; economic and social development in the Basra area; and the transfer of  Basra Airport to civilian use.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrives in Baghdad, Iraq in a Super Puma helicopter, passing a large mosque under construction

Arrival: He strides across the tarmac at Baghdad Airport

'These are the building blocks for the future. It is absolutely essential that we complete these tasks,' he said.

'I am not setting an artificial timetable, but what I can say is there has been significant progress in all these areas.'

There had been a 'turning point' in the violence in recent months, with the number of incidents reducing dramatically since he was last in the country, said the Prime Minister.

'In a period of six months enormous progress has been made,' he said.

Mr Brown, who is due to update MPs on Britain's involvement in Iraq in a statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday, flew into Kuwait this morning before transferring to Baghdad on a Hercules C130.

He was ferried between Baghdad Airport and the fortified Green Zone in a Puma helicopter. While waiting the for the Puma to take off, the Prime Minister was pictured in the gunner's seat behind a mounted gun.

Aides later stressed that Mr Brown, pictured in body armour over his suit, did not actually handle the gun.

Following talks at Mr Maliki's offices and the presidential palace, Mr Brown spoke to US military commander General David Petraeus and American ambassador Ryan Crocker at the British embassy in Baghdad, then took the C130 on to Basra to meet British troops based around the airport there.

The Prime Minister chatted in the dust and the heat with members of the Military Transition Team, who are usually embedded with Iraqi troops across the Basra region.

Mr Brown promised to meet again with Mr Maliki in the autumn, but did not say where the meeting would take place.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg urged Mr Brown to withdraw all UK forces from southern Iraq.

'Our troops are overstaying in Iraq and overstretched in Afghanistan,' said Mr Clegg.

'That is why Gordon Brown should take the decision to withdraw all remaining British troops in southern Iraq so that we can do the increasingly difficult job in southern Afghanistan.

'Worries about American sensitivities are completely misplaced. We have done their bidding for too long in Iraq, at a time when our troops in Afghanistan need more support in leading the international effort against the Taliban.'