Jordan Times
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Amman, Riyadh say summit
should ‘readopt’ peace offer
Rice to meet with Jordanian, Saudi,
Egyptian, Emirati FMs
Agencies
KING ABDULLAH AND Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday said Arab summit, to be held
in Riyadh later this month, should “readopt” the 2002 peace offer to the
Israelis.
“Commitment to the implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative will end the
Arab-Israeli conflict,” the two leaders stressed, according to the Jordan News
Agency, Petra.
The initiative calls for peace between Israel and Arab nations for the return of
Arab land seized by the Jewish state in 1967.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa said recently the Riyadh summit would not
“reintroduce” the initiative, but rather “reaffirm” measures and Arab commitment
to it.
Israel rejected the Arab peace deal, but in recent weeks said it could support
it with some amendments.
The Arab League ruled out any revisions to the plan.
Saudi daily Okaz cited an Arab diplomat on Wednesday as saying Arab countries
would reject any US attempt ahead of the summit to persuade them to water down
the plan, Reuters reported.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to meet foreign ministers from Egypt,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Egypt later this week.
King Abdullah and the Saudi monarch also discussed means to revive the
Palestinian-Israeli peace process. They said the formation of the Palestinian
unity government was an “important step” towards ending “chaos” in the occupied
territories and “working with the international community to achieve Palestinian
aspirations”.
Saudi Arabia last month brokered the Mecca deal that led to the formation of the
Palestinian unity government this month between Hamas and Fateh.
The agreement, which ended months of deadly infighting, included a formula that
stopped short of international demands for recognition of Israel and renouncing
armed struggle.
A senior Western diplomat in Riyadh said Saudi Arabia wants the Arab summit to
reinforce support for the new government.
On Wednesday, Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal said the Arab summit should back the
new Palestinian government in its efforts to end an international blockade.
“The world should deal with this unity government without discriminating between
ministers... and lift the financial blockade on the Palestinian people,” Mishaal
said, referring to US and EU readiness to meet only with non-Hamas ministers.
“We received encouragement from the Saudi leadership,” he said about his talks
with Saudi officials. “We hope these Arab positions will be translated into
action at the Arab summit.”
Asked about the peace, Mishaal said the Hamas-led Palestinian government agreed
to accept Arab summit decisions.
“What we support is in accordance with the Arab position ...We accepted the
decision of Arab summits,” he told reporters in Jeddah after talks with the
Saudi king late Tuesday.