Israel now ready to treat peace plan ‘seriously’

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday said 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 a comprehensive peace, was first proposed in 2002 but never got off the ground. It is expected to be high on the agenda at an Arab League summit later this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Israel in the past has expressed reservations about the Saudi plan. In particular, Israel has resisted calls for a full withdrawal from the West Bank and east Jerusalem – both captured in the 1967 war.

Israel also objects to the Saudi plan’s endorsement of the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees displaced by the establishment of Israel.

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