| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine |
| Saudi Arabia steps up diplomatic drive for peace |
| 2002-02-22 |
| The Kingdom has stepped up a diplomatic drive to get Israel to lift a siege on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Middle East peace talks to resume, a newspaper reported yesterday. Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, is spearheading contacts with US officials under close supervision from Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, Al-Watan daily quoted unnamed sources as saying. "The aim is to lift the siege on the Palestinian leadership and to urge the parties to implement the recommendations of the Mitchell commission and the Tenet understandings and to resume negotiations," Al-Watan said, without giving details. It was referring to separate proposals made last year by a panel led by former US Sen. George Mitchell and by CIA Director George Tenet to end a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence that began in 2000, and revive peace talks. Israeli tanks surround Arafat's office in the West Bank town of Ramallah, where he has been confined by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon since December. Al-Watan said Saudi Arabia's drive followed extensive contacts between Prince Abdullah and Arab leaders. Crown Prince Abdullah was quoted by The New York Times on Sunday as saying he had been ready to push for normalizing Arab ties with Israel in return for the Jewish state's withdrawal from all the Palestinian lands it occupied in a 1967 Middle East War. He said he had changed his mind due to Sharon's oppressive measures to quell the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. |
| Posted by:Fred |