Brown's hopes for quick peace deal

The Prime Minister, who is touring the Gulf, said everyone was now clear "how it can happen", and that it was vital to push forward.

Asked in an interview with the Al-Arabiya channel whether a settlement to create a Palestinian state could be reached "soon", he said: "I think that is possible."

He added: "I think people understand how it can happen, we know that very detailed negotiations have taken place over the last few months. We know that the political situation at the moment has made it difficult for these to be brought to a conclusion.

"But I think given that people understand not only the importance of this, but how a settlement would look; I think it is possible with the right circumstances to move quickly to a settlement."

The Prime Minister was meeting British pilots who have been flying dangerous missions in the Gulf as his tour of the region nears its end. He visited an air base in Abu Dhabi where cutting edge Typhoon fighter planes have been deployed with the RAF.

Mr Brown has spent most of his four-day stint in the Gulf exhorting leaders to engage with moves to rescue and reform the global economy.

There have been fears that the fund's current reserves of 250 billion dollars (£158,000 billion) may not be enough to bail out economies hit by the global downturn, while oil-rich countries are sitting on an estimated one trillion dollar windfall in the wake of the oil price spike.

However, no formal announcements are expected before leaders gather in Washington on November 15 to discuss reforming the world financial system.

In a speech in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Mr Brown reiterated his calls for "dialogue" between oil producers and consumers to ensure the cost of oil is kept stable rather than risking a repeat of recent volatility. He said people had to move on from a "zero sum gain" approach which assumed those selling and buying oil would oppose each other rather than co-operate.