Home | China | World | Business PNA Calls on U.S. to Adopt Saudi Peace Initiative THU, FEB 28, 2002     A senior Palestinian National Authority official Wednesday called on the United States to adopt and sponsor the strategic concepts of Saudi Arabia's initiative on peace in the Middle East. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio that the principles of the Saudi peace initiative "had deleted all the interim and transitional plans and solutions of the Israeli government officials." Erekat said he hopes that the United States would not loose this "golden historic opportunity", adding that adopting the initiative and concentrating on its ideological concepts "would help bring the peace process back on track." Erekat criticized the Israeli comment on the Saudi initiative that Israel would not withdraw from all the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, saying the importance of the Saudi initiative is to tell Israel that "it has to choose, either peace or occupation and settlements." He called on the Israeli government not to try to dismantle or undermine the initiative put forward by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz that the Arab world would recognize and normalize relations with Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from all its occupied Arab lands captured in the 1967 Mideast War. "The initiative puts Israel in a test in front of the whole world," Erekat said. "It shows the world the reality of the Israeli positions towards peace and shows how Israel is sensitive to resuming the peace process." Editor:Liu Hongji Source:Xinhua Recommend to your friend email:    China Central Television,All Rights Reserved