SAUDI ARABIA: Leaders arrive in Riyadh for summit aimed at reviving Arab peace plan

Record ID: 189842

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Leaders arrive in Riyadh for summit aimed at reviving Arab peace plan
  • Date: 29th March 2007
  • Summary: (W3) RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (MARCH 27, 2007) (REUTERS) SAUDI GUARD OF HONOUR OUTSIDE AIRPORT VARIOUS OF GUARDS STANDING OUTSIDE HOLDING FLAGS OF VARIOUS ARAB STATES SAUDI SECURITY PERSONNEL IN STREET SAUDI POLICEMAN ON MOTORCYCLE SECURITY PERSONNEL IN STREET VARIOUS OF POSTERS OF KING ARAB SUMMIT BANNERS WITH FLAGS OF ARAB STATES ON BRIDGE SAUDI FLAG TRAFFIC ON STREET
  • Embargoed: 13th April 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Reuters ID: LVA2MDVQDYXCKHCAUUUN72OQ06DI
  • Story Text: Arab leaders began arriving in Riyadh on Tuesday (March 27) for a two-day summit expected to relaunch a peace initiative offering Israel normal ties with all Arab states in return for a full withdrawal from land it has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war.
    Saudi King Abdullah greeted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other leaders at the airport amid tight security in the Saudi capital.
    Draft resolutions for the March 28-29 summit, hammered out in only a few hours on Monday (March 26), are dominated by the Arab-Israeli conflict and appear designed to entice Israel into talks without altering the text of the 2002 peace initiative.
    Israel rejected the peace plan in 2002, but with the United States, has recently shown more interest. However, it has made clear its objections to some parts, including the proposed full return to 1967 borders, the inclusion of East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel, in a Palestinian state and demands for the return of Palestinian refugees.
    A draft text obtained by Reuters reiterates a call "to all Israelis to accept the initiative and seize the current opportunity to return to the direct and serious negotiating process at all levels".
    The text is viewed with caution by more militant groups on the Arab side.
    The draft avoids any mention of the phrase "right of return" for Palestinian refugees, which Israel has strongly argued against. The Arab peace initiative refers only to a just solution to the refugee question.
    The Islamic militant group Hamas demands the right to return for all Palestinians and descendants who fled or were driven from what is now Israel in the late 1940s. It has refused to recognise Israel but Palestinian officials say it has agreed not to go against the Arab peace plan during the summit.
    The draft resolution sets up a mechanism to promote the peace plan that could pave the way for Arab countries with no ties to Israel to open up their own official diplomatic channels.
    The text avoids a clear rejection of the idea of a Palestinian state with temporary borders, which was floated by Washington and is provided for in the peace "road map" set up by the "Quartet" of mediators including the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia.
    The summit will also give backing to the Palestinian unity government, which is led by the Islamic group Hamas, and encourage the international community to end an embargo on political and financial links with the government.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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