Olmert Ready to ‘Treat Seriously’ Saudi Arabian Peace Initiative

Mohammed Mar’i & Hisham Abu Taha, Arab News

RAMALLAH, West Bank, 12 March 2007 — As expected the summit meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ended yesterday with little progress on key issues.

Olmert and Abbas met face to face in Jerusalem for more than two hours, making little progress but agreeing to move forward with their fledgling dialogue, an Israeli official said.

“The meeting was constructive. The two sides agreed to have further discussions,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media. As a goodwill gesture, Olmert pledged to extend the operating hours of Gaza’s Karni goods crossing.
Talks also touched on Israel’s calls for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is being held by Palestinian military wings, and the ongoing Palestinian rocket attacks out of Gaza, the official said.

Ahead of yesterday’s summit, Olmert announced he was ready to “treat seriously” a dormant Saudi initiative calling for a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and the Arab world in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from lands captured in the 1967 Mideast War.

The Saudi peace initiative, which aimed to solve the Palestinian issue by offering Israel peace, was first proposed in 2002 but never got off the ground. It is expected to be high on the agenda at a pan-Arab summit this month in Riyadh.

The Saudis have been pushing hard for other regional countries, many of whom have also endorsed it, to gather behind the initiative to push the peace process forward.

Olmert told his Cabinet yesterday that Israel is following development in the Arab world “with the utmost attention” and noted “positive developments” among moderate Arab countries.

“We have said more than once that the Saudi initiative is a matter which we would be ready to treat seriously and we have not altered our position,” he said. “We hope very much that at the meeting of heads of Arab states to take place in Riyadh, the positive elements expressed in the Saudi initiative will be revalidated and will perhaps improve the chances of negotiation between us and the Palestinian Authority.” In the past, Israel has rejected the plan’s call for a full withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It also opposes the plan’s implicit endorsement of a large-scale return of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to areas inside Israel.

The Abbas-Olmert talks were overshadowed by Abbas’ recent power-sharing deal with Hamas.

Olmert has said he will not conduct peace talks with a government that includes Hamas unless the group gives in to international demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel’s right to exist and accept past peace agreements. The unity deal, reached last month in the holy city of Makkah, only agrees to “respect” past agreements, falling short of the international conditions.
“The Israeli government has expressed its disappointment over the Makkah accord and has not changed its position,” Olmert told his Cabinet. “We hope that the Palestinian government that is to be formed will accept the Quartet (international) principles.” Palestinian officials said Abbas would try to persuade Olmert to accept the unity deal.

Olmert and Abbas walked into the residence together. The two leaders, flanked by their aides, sat on opposite sides of a conference table as the talks began. Olmert smiled to TV cameras in the room as he exchanged pleasantries with Abbas. Abbas has been traveling through Europe and the Middle East seeking international recognition for the Makkah deal. He says the agreement is the best he can get from Hamas.

The US and European Union have said they are waiting to see the program and make-up of the new government before making a final decision. Palestinian officials expect the new government to be formed within two weeks.

Meanwhile, Hamas yesterday rejected accusations by Al-Qaeda No. 2 Ayman Al-Zawahri that the Palestinian movement was surrendering to Israel by agreeing to form a unity government.

“These are unjust accusations without consequences for the policies of Hamas, which knows how to read the international and regional situation,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said.
The Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs said that Israel had freed jailed senior Hamas official Saleh Al-Aruri, after 15 years in prison.