Jordan calls for revival of Arab peace offer

Jordan tried yesterday to persuade fellow Arab countries to relaunch an offer of eventual normalisation of ties with Israel after assuring them it did not propose to dilute the conditions Israel must meet.

Arab foreign ministers were discussing a Jordanian attempt to breathe new life into a 2002 peace initiative at a meeting to prepare for an Arab summit in Algiers on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulki told reporters the aim was "to take advantage of the current circumstances in the region to convey the desire of the Arab world for peace."

Arab leaders, at a summit in Beirut in 2002, unanimously offered Israel normal relations if it withdrew from the territory it occupied in the Middle East war of 1967 and allowed the Palestinians to set up a state with Jerusalem as its capital. Israel rejected the offer.

The Arabs have complained that the world did not give them due credit for the initiative. Jordan, the Arab country friendliest to Israel, wants the summit to remarket the offer by making it easier to digest, one official said.

The Jordanian initiative follows some recent progress in relations between Israel and its neighbours. The Palestinians have declared a truce, while Egypt and Jordan have sent back ambassadors for the first time in four years.

"Jordan is trying to appeal to public opinion inside Israel... trying to calm Israelis' fears about Arab hostility and create a critical mass of public opinion," said analyst Abdel Moneim Said of Cairo's al-Ahram Centre.

The text of the Jordanian proposal was closely guarded but one official, who asked not to be named, said it was a very brief resume of the 2002 initiative, including an Arab commitment to peace as a "strategic option".

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osmal Ismail told reporters the proposal had gone through several drafts and his country would support it in its present form.

Earlier this week Arab officials had indicated that opposition to it was widespread, for fear the Jordanians were trying to promote normal relations with Israel even before the Jewish state meets the Arab conditions.

But Mulki denied yesterday there was any contradiction between Jordan's draft resolution and the Beirut initiative.

"This resolution starts by affirming the Arab initiative and affirming the relevant UN resolutions.

"It is not true that the draft means abandoning the right of return (of Palestinian refugees) or the fact that East Jerusalem will be the capital of the Palestinian state," he added.

Syria, traditionally one of the Arab states which takes a tough line with Israel, said it was already committed to the Beirut initiative. "The initiative never died to be revived," said Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem.

Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman Rajab al-Suqeiri said: "There is no opposition to it. There are various points of view and that is normal but we expect that the foreign ministers will approve it and submit it to the kings and presidents."

King Abdullah of Jordan, the first Arab leader to send an ambassador back to Israel this year, raised Arab suspicions because he announced the plan to relaunch the initiative in an interview with Israeli television.

The king said in the interview he was surprised that the Arab offer had not had much impact on Israeli society.