RIYADH/GAZA CITY, 8 June 2006 — Saudi Arabia and Jordan yesterday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s unilateral withdrawal plan from the West Bank and urged Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace negotiations, an official said yesterday after talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Jordan’s King Abdallah in Riyadh.
“The two kings stressed their rejection of unilateral solutions which Israel is trying to implement in the Palestinian territories,” the AFP news agency quoted an official accompanying the Jordanian king as saying. The summit came on the eve of King Abdallah’s meeting with Prime Minister Olmert in Amman.
The two Arab leaders called for a resumption of the peace process based on an Arab initiative drawn up by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and the international road map peace plan, the Jordanian official said. They also called on Palestinian factions to “discard disputes and protect national unity,” he added.
The Saudi-Jordan summit talks come against the backdrop of a new international initiative to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in coordination with Washington. It follows another summit meeting recently between the Saudi king and President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
“The two leaders discussed the latest developments at Arab, Islamic and international levels, most importantly the Palestinian issue and the situation in Iraq as well as prospects of expanding bilateral cooperation,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
Top Saudi officials including Crown Prince Sultan, Interior Minister Prince Naif, Riyadh Governor Prince Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal attended the talks in Riyadh with members of the delegation accompanying the Jordanian king.
The Riyadh talks took place after the Hamas-led government agreed with the Fatah movement to withdraw its private militia from public areas of Gaza.
Brokered by Egyptian diplomats, the deal came amid a deeper disagreement over an ultimatum by President Mahmoud Abbas to recognize Israel or face a referendum on the idea. Abbas, who heads Fatah, has given the Islamic group until the weekend to respond.
The black-clad Hamas militia has been at the center of a brewing power struggle. Hamas deployed the 3,000-member force last month throughout Gaza, sparking violence that has claimed 16 lives.
“They are going to be in places away from the public. They are not going to be visible to people,” government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said after yesterday’s meeting.
Under the arrangement, the militia is to be folded into the official Palestinian police force, he said. Senior officials from both sides, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, joined the daylong talks.
“We agreed on practical steps to guarantee the end of the bloodshed in Palestinian streets,” Hamad said.
Hamas agreed to withdraw its force from public view late last month. But within days, the gunmen returned to their positions. After yesterday’s deal was announced, the Hamas force remained in full view.
Abbas has been vying for power with Hamas since the group defeated Fatah in elections in January.
The feud has revolved around control of the security forces. With most forces loyal to Fatah, the Hamas government deployed its private militia. The militia is commanded by a top Palestinian wanted by Israel and suspected in the deadly bombing of an American diplomatic convoy in 2003.
Abbas has said the Hamas force is illegal but said it could be folded into existing security agencies.
More violence preceded the deal. Early yesterday, a senior Fatah-linked police official escaped an apparent assassination attempt when a bomb went off prematurely, injuring an assailant. And a day earlier, rocket-propelled grenades struck a pro-Fatah security force. Fatah blamed Hamas for both incidents.
— With input from agencies
