Jordan's king to meet with Israeli, US, Palestinian peace activists

Apr 14, 2007, 5:51 GMT

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II has invited politicians and peace activists from Israel, the United States and the Palestinian territories for discussions in Amman as part of an effort to push forward the stalled Middle East peace process, officials said Saturday.

Among Israeli politicians due to visit Jordan next week will be the speaker of the Israeli parliament or Knesset, Dalia Itzik.

The monarch plans to discuss 'means of reviving the peace process on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative' that was readopted in an Arab summit conference in Riyadh at the end of March, a senior royal court official said.

King Abdullah urged Israelis earlier this week to respond to the Arab blueprint, which he said provided a 'rare opportunity' for concluding peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Arab peace plan envisages extending recognition to Israel by all Arab states after it pulls out from all the Arab territories it occupied in the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem.

Israel has generally welcomed the initiative, but has expressed reservtions specifically over the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in what is now Israel.

The Riyadh conference formed a pan-Arab panel to visit the world's influential capitals to muster support for the Arab plan. King Abdullah visited Paris on Wednesday, where he met with French President Jacques Chirac and sought the support of France and other European Union capitals for the initiative.