SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah Wednesday called on Hamas to recognize an Arab initiative for peace in the Middle East that envisages normalizing ties with Israel. Egypt and Saudi Arabia call on Hamas to recognize the Beirut-Arab initiative, presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters after the meeting between the two leaders in Sharm El-Sheikh. The Arab Initiative, adopted at the Beirut summit in 2002, calls on Arab governments to normalize ties with Israel in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Arab territories according to the 1967 borders and the establishment of a Palestinian state. But the Hamas-led government has so far refused to recognize Israel. The two leaders also discussed the power struggle between loyalists of former ruling party Fatah and the Islamist movement Hamas, saying that the current phase required putting the Palestinian house in order. Egypt sees that the coming critical phase requires the cessation of any escalation between the Palestinian factions, Awwad said. There is an urgent need now for all the heads of the Palestinian factions to be aware of the higher interests of the Palestinian people and their desire for an independent state, he said. Awwad also denied earlier press reports of the existence of an international campaign to revive the Middle East peace process. The Saudi-owned newspaper Al-Hayat said Wednesday that a new international action will be launched in the region to break the stalemate in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. Arab-U.S. and inter-Arab contacts are underway to develop this action into a political initiative which would remove obstacles hindering a resumption of negotiations, the paper said. I have no information about what was published in Al-Hayat and I haven t seen any other press reports about what was published about any such initiative, said Awad. Abdullah s trip to Egypt comes ahead of a June 4 meeting between Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The Jewish state has frozen all contact with the Palestinian Authority since Hamas won a January parliamentary election and went on to form a government in March. Hamas and Abbas rival Fatah faction have been holding talks to resolve their differences over the conflict with Israel and over control of the Palestinian security forces. AFP
