Israel shows new openness to Saudi peace plan
In Jordan, the Israeli prime minister said he was ready to discuss the Arab Peace Initiative with Mideast neighbors
from the May 16, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
In recent days, Palestinian newspapers have carried reports that a proposal kicking around for many years has resurfaced: the creation of a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation as an answer to the difficulties of creating an independent, viable Palestinian state.
King Abdullah was due to meet Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, known as Abu Mazen, in Ramallah on Sunday, but canceled at the last minute due to inclement weather.
Any signs of life in a peace process come at a particularly historic moment on the calendars of the region.
Israelis are marking Jerusalem Day, celebrating 40 years of what is officially considered to be the reunification of Jerusalem, including the predominantly Arab parts that were part of Jordan until June 1967. Palestinians, for whom East Jerusalem is an occupied territory, held solemn memorials to mark the day of al Nakba, or the Catastrophe, the term used in the Arab world in reference to Israel's creation in 1948.
The complications surrounding any new drive for returning to substantive peace talks worsened Tuesday in Gaza when at least nine members of a Fatah security force were killed in an attack that Fatah blamed on Hamas.
Internal fighting between the two main Palestinian factions has worsened in recent days despite repeated efforts to reach a sustainable truce. On Monday, the Palestinian Authority's interior minister, Hani Qawasmi, resigned, saying that he was fed up with attempts to bring rival security forces to operate under a joint command.
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