ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan. 25 - Jerusalem Silent On Saudi Peace Plan.

Israeli officials decline comment on a reported new Saudi peace initiative under which Arab states would permanently absorb 2m Palestinian refugees. The Kuwaiti newspaper As-Siyasa said on Jan. 24 Saudi Arabia was expected to reiterate a plan it first put forward at the March 2002 Arab summit in Beirut for a peace agreement between all Arab states and Israel, in exchange for the return of all territory captured in the 1967 war. In addition, 2m Palestinian refugees would be permitted to move to a newly created Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while a further 2m would be settled in Arab states. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman says: "This has not been officially put forward and it is not really worth discussing at the moment".

(The peace initiative, if confirmed, would be an attempt to break the deadlock over one of the most contentious issues barring the way to a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. The Israeli government has said it cannot accept the return of refugees to what is now Israel under an eventual peace deal as such an influx would destroy the Jewish character of the state. The Palestinian leadership, however, refuses to abandon the "right of return" in advance of negotiations on a final settlement. As-Siyasa said Saudi Arabia was to present the plan at the March summit meeting of the Arab League).