Saudi peace plan draws U.S., European interest

Associated Press

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told a European Union envoy Tuesday he was willing to meet Saudi officials, publicly or behind the scenes, to explore their proposals for an overall Mideast peace, the European diplomat said.

The proposals floated by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah have gotten a warm response from the Palestinians, some Arab nations and some Israeli officials – including the foreign and defense ministers. Sharon’s aides, however, say they want more details.

Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, announced that he was making a previously unscheduled trip to Riyadh today to hear details of the Saudi peace plan firsthand from Abdullah.

President Bush telephoned the Saudi crown prince Tuesday to express U.S. hopes of working with him “in the pursuit of Middle East peace,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said

Israeli officials said at this point, the initiative had not formally been placed on the table by the Saudis. The outlines of the plan were first disclosed in a column in The New York Times by Thomas Friedman after an interview with Abdullah in Saudi Arabia.

According to the Friedman report, the entire Arab world would make peace with the Jewish state if it withdrew from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem – land captured in the 1967 Mideast War.

Palestinians have endorsed the Saudi initiative, saying that it fits their policy of offering Israel full peace for full withdrawal.

In an attempt to address the more immediate concern – bringing calm after 17 months of violence – Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs resumed talks Tuesday on measures to stop violence and ease Israeli restrictions over Palestinian territory.

In violence early today, one Palestinian gunman was killed and five injured when Israeli tanks tried to enter the Balata refugee camp next to Nablus, Palestinians said. All the casualties were linked to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, they said.

Thousands of costumed Israelis turned out Tuesday for a huge, noisy parade in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, marking the Jewish festival of Purim, despite concerns about attacks by Palestinian militants. Security was tight.