Israel’s Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the Saudi Initiative, which calls on Israel to withdraw from areas seized in 1967 in exchange for normalized relations with
Arab states, should be a basis for talks with Palestinians.
Leaders of Arab countries unanimously approved the 2002 initiative at an Arab League summit in the Saudi capital in Riyadh on Wednesday. They did not make any amendments to the plan.
Despite expressing a positive attitude towards the plan, Peretz said the clause referring to the return of Palestinian refugees was unacceptable to Israel.
He suggested the Israelis propose a plan of their own, according to the Israeli news portal Ynet.
In any future agreement, the 1967 borders would be the yardstick according to which Israel would act, Peretz said.
Earlier this week Israeli Housing Minister Meir Sheetrit called on leaders of the Arab world to talk peace with Israel, and to use the Saudi Initiative as a basis for talks.
Despite his government’s frosty approach to the initiative, Sheetrit said he believed the plan should be taken seriously and should be accepted as a basis for an agreement, the details of which could be negotiated.