JEDDAH/HOUSTON, 30 April — Saudi Arabia yesterday urged the United States to keep up the pressure on Israel to end its repeated incursions into Palestinian areas and to honor international resolutions. The Council of Ministers said the Kingdom was hoping that the United States would play a pivotal role to bring about a just and comprehensive Middle East peace settlement.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, who chaired the Cabinet meeting, said the visit of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, to the US was aimed at giving a true picture of the plight of Palestinian people and exchanging views on other issues.

Prince Abdullah concluded his weeklong official visit to the US yesterday during which he held five hours of crucial talks with President George W. Bush at his Texas ranch and presented an eight-point plan to reinforce peace in the Middle East.

The Saudi government said the crown prince and Bush expressed the hope that the week’s diplomatic activity that ended with the Israelis agreeing to let Palestinian President Yasser Arafat out of his besieged compound would be a first step toward resolving the Mideast conflict.

“The crown prince expressed his deep appreciation for the intense efforts exerted by the president and his administration to break the impasse in the Middle East,” Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal told reporters. The two sides expressed their hope that both parties would shun violence.

“Both leaders hoped that this would be the first step toward political negotiations that would lead to a comprehensive and just peace in the region,” the prince said. The Saudi chief diplomat met with reporters just before Prince Abdullah left his Houston hotel for the Moroccan city of Casablanca where he arrived later. The crown prince had been expected to stay another day, but saw no need for it because of Sunday’s developments, Saudi officials said. Prince Saud said his country was closely monitoring the continued siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity and stated that “we hope for a speedy resolution.”

“Time is of the essence and we hope that all sides will see the wisdom and urgency of speedy movement toward peace,” he said. He praised Bush “whom we found, before, during and after the talks to be fully engaged. We found him in calm reflection of what can be done.” And he praised efforts by the British government to end the standoff.

Bush and the crown prince spoke by telephone Sunday morning and “the two leaders reaffirmed the historical and rock-solid relationship which reflects the strategic interests of the two countries,” Prince Saud said.

Despite the kind words, there were still disagreements to overcome and details to be worked out. The Bush administration has made no bones about its desire to oust Saddam Hussein from Iraq, by force if necessary, because of his alleged involvement in terrorist activities.

But Saudis have opposed the idea. “During the last Arab summit in Beirut, Iraq has pledged it will not attack Kuwait again. It also pledged that it would implement all UN resolutions. It has also started talks with the United Nations on the return of weapons inspectors. These are the US demands from Iraq,” Prince Saud said, adding that there was no need for military action against Baghdad.

There is also disagreement about whether the proposed Mideast international peacekeeping force should be armed, which the Saudis support and the United States, siding with Israel, does not. “We believe events have gone beyond the capacity of observers,” said Prince Saud.

Asharq Al-Awsat, meanwhile, said Prince Abdullah had almost cut his visit short after the Americans presented him a blueprint for a joint statement that ignored the peace plan which he drew up and was adopted by the Arab summit on March 28 in Beirut. The paper quoted unnamed sources as saying that “Prince Abdullah became furious because the American blueprint included only one paragraph from the Saudi plan which welcomes normalization with Israel.” The snag was however resolved by Americans agreeing to include the Saudi positions in the final communiqué, the paper added.

The Cabinet meeting underscored the long-standing ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States. It emphasized the two countries’ wish to see peace and stability prevail all over the world.

Addressing the Cabinet, King Fahd highlighted the dangerous situation in the Middle East as a result of Israel’s aggressive policies. “The crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians have no parallels,” the king stated.