Jordan’s King Abdullah returned home Tuesday afternoon following a short visit to Egypt, where he held talks with President Muhammad Husni Mubarak. During the talks, King Abdullah and Mubarak called on Israel to positively respond to the Arab initiatives set to achieve just and comprehensive peace, including the ideas set recently by Saudi Arabia.
The two leaders called for instant lifting of the siege and closure imposed against the Palestinian territories, and lifting the siege and restrictions imposed against Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, the Jordanian News Agency Petra reported.
The two leaders stressed that the establishment of the independent Palestinian state is an inevitable necessity to establish durable peace in the region.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, on a visit to the region, said he was rushing to the Saudi city of Jeddah to discuss the kingdom's initiative with Abdullah on Wednesday.
US President George W. Bush has telephoned the crown prince for talks on the initiative, the official Saudi news agency SPA reported Tuesday.
Prince Abdullah earlier this month raised the prospect of the Arab world normalizing ties with Israel in return for a total Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands occupied in the 1967 war.
However, the moves to start an unaccustomed dialogue made an awkward start, with the Saudi daily Al-Watan calling Israeli President Moshe Katsav's invitation to the Saudi Crown Prince to visit Israel premature and nothing more than a "maneuver".
"The Israelis, deeply embarrassed by the Saudi crown prince's initiative and the unprecedented support it has won ... are trying to embarrass others and throw the ball out of their court," Al-Watan wrote.
An exchange of visits between Saudis and Israelis would only take place "to consolidate accords already reached, and not at the beginning of an initiative on which Israelis haven't pronounced themselves clearly," added Al-Watan. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
