The presidents of Egypt and Syria met Saturday, and were to be joined by the Saudi crown prince, for talks focusing on an expected Israeli incursion against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah was to brief his fellow Arab leaders on his talks last month with President Bush.
Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Sharm a Shiekh and promptly went into talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak. The two leaders were accompanied by their foreign ministers. They were due to be joined by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in the evening, according to the Egyptian Information Ministry.
Speaking to reporters minutes before Syrian President Bashar Assad's arrival, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said an Israeli drive into Gaza would be "very dangerous" and "reflected in a horrible way on the Israeli people and on the whole region."
Mubarak said he would listen to Abdullah's account of his talks with Bush. "All that concerns us is peace," Mubarak said, "and security and peace will only be achieved when Israel withdraws from the occupied lands."
Over the weekend, Mubarak asked U.S. President George Bush to urge Israel to reconsider a potential assault in the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian president also called Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to ask that he "act with restraint."
Saudi FM
The Saudi foreign minister said on Friday he saw a "ray of hope" for Middle East peace, saying a new, proactive stance by Washington would help bring Arabs and Israelis back to the negotiating table.
Prince Saud al-Faisal said in Cairo Arabs and the United States had to seize the chance for peace and press the Palestinians and Israel into ending 19 months of bloodshed. "There is a ray of hope. The door is open," Prince Saud told Reuters and a small group of U.S. newspaper journalists ahead of the mini-summit in Sharm a Shiekh.
"It is the position of the United States that has now turned into a proactive position, that is going towards (taking) the bull by the horns, pursuing the peace process and developing a process which will bring us back to the negotiating table."
Prince Saud said the kingdom noticed a sea change in U.S. Middle East policy when Prince Abdullah had talks in the United States last month. He said an Arab decision to back a Saudi-inspired land-for-peace deal with Israel at an Arab summit in Beirut in March had also pushed peace chances forward.
The minister said Saturday's tripartite summit could give peace efforts additional momentum. The three leaders are inclined to discuss the Saudi peace initiative, and a united Arab position at a potential Middle East peace conference in the summer.
In an effort to bolster new U.S. peace initiatives, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states have begun pressing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to stop suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis, Prince Saud was quoted as saying by The Washington Post in its Saturday editions.
The newspaper reported that in "constant" calls, Saudi officials have been telling Arafat and Palestinian officials that if the U.S. initiative is to take hold, the activities of groups such as the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad must be curbed, Faisal said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
