ARAB AFFAIRS - Apr 18 - Arab Ministers Back Israel Talks.

Egypt and Jordan should hold talks with Israel to discuss how an Arab peace initiative could be implemented, in an attempt to revive the stalled Middle East peace process. Arab diplomats said it would be up to Cairo and Amman to initiate the contacts and seek ways to start direct negotiations between the Jewish state and Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria over occupied land. AMoussa, head of the Arab League, said it was hoped the move could "open the way for the Israeli government to move and change its policy". "That could open the gates for more contacts, wider contacts", he said, and lead to a successful peace process. The one-day meeting of 13 Arab FMs at the Arab League was a follow-up to last month's summit in Riyadh, when leaders committed themselves to the initiative and agreed to set up working groups to try to sell the plan to the Jewish state. Apr 18 decision represented the first concrete steps to move the process forward. If the talks go ahead, it would be the first time representatives of the Arab League - in the shape of Egypt and Jordan - would have held talks with Israel specifically focusing on the Arab initiative. The peace plan was initially agreed in 2002 and proposes normal ties with Israel if it withdraws from lands occupied in 1967. It also agrees to the formation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and to a "just" solution to the fate of Palestinian refugees. Both Egypt and Jordan have routine diplomatic contacts with Israel, which has previously objected to the initiative's refugee clause, saying it would lead to mass resettlement. On Apr 16, Ehud Olmert said Israel was ready for talks on the land-for-peace initiative, but Israel made clear it wanted Saudi Arabia and other Arab League members with no formal ties to the Jewish state to take part. However, Saud al-Feisal, the Saudi FM, said Saudi Arabia, which has been at the forefront of recent Arab diplomatic efforts, would not be having contact with Israel. He said the ministers had acted on the basis of an Arab League resolution "which calls on the Israeli government and Israelis in general to accept the Arab peace plan and seize the opportunity to resume the process of direct and serious negotiations on all tracks". It was also agreed that a working group, including ministers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, the PA, Lebanon, Egypt and Morocco, would be established to present the Arab point of view and hold discussions with other countries and institutions.