Posted: 3/3/2002 8:58:07 PM EDT
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Mideast Peace Plan Causes Arab Rift Sun Mar 3, 5:53 PM ET By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is causing a rift among Arabs ahead of a key summit, and an Israeli official said Sunday that its main provision was an unacceptable precondition for talks. The proposal floated by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah two weeks ago envisions full Arab political, economic and cultural relations with Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from Arab lands it captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Abdullah has said he would try to persuade Arab leaders to adopt his plan at the March 27-28 Arab League summit in Beirut, Lebanon.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi rejected the plan Saturday, saying it was "shocking" and entailed "cheap bargaining."
In an interview on the influential pan-Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera, Abdul-bary Atwan, editor of the London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds, said the plan constitutes a reward for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites). "In my view, it causes more problems for the Arabs," Atwan said.
In Israel, Sharon's Cabinet made no formal decision about Saudi proposal at its weekly meeting Sunday, and Sharon — who has not commented publicly about the plan — reportedly said only that he wanted to see more details. In the past, Sharon has ruled out a return to the 1967 borders.
But Cabinet Secretary Gideon Saar told reporters after the meeting that the Saudi provision on a withdrawal to the prewar lines was unacceptable as a starting point for negotiations.
"We will not be able to accept, in principle, something dictated before negotiations," Saar said. "The frontier, in the whole area, will be determined only by negotiation."
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, both of the center-left Labor party, have said that the Saudi plan has positive elements and should be explored. Hard-liners in Sharon's coalition government have dismissed it out of hand.
On the other side of the divide, militant Muslim groups in the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon have also criticized the plan.
Walid al-Tabtabi, a Kuwaiti lawmaker known for his radical Islamic views, described the plan as a "grave strategic mistake." In a statement published in Sunday's newspapers, he said he doubted that the Saudi heir apparent would actually accept an Israeli embassy in Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam and its 7th century prophet Muhammad.
Syria, a traditional Saudi ally and foe of Israel, has remained silent. Syrian President Bashar Assad will travel to Saudi Arabia this week for talks on the plan, Saudi media reported Sunday. View Quote
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