March 28, 2002	Thursday	Muharram 13, 1423

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BEIRUT, March 27: Prospects for Middle East peace plunged on two fronts on Wednesday as an Arab summit mulling a major initiative descended into disarray and Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire talks stalled, sparking fears of renewed violence.

Arab leaders opened their much-anticipated summit here hoping to forge a consensus on a Saudi plan to normalize ties with Israel in return for its withdrawal from lands seized in the 1967 war.

But the gathering of the 22-member Arab League quickly became bogged down in old rivalries, jolted by the absence of more than half the heads of state, a Palestinian walkout and a bitter Saudi protest.

The Palestinians pulled out after their absent chief Yasser Arafat was refused permission by host Lebanon to address the gathering’s opening day live via satellite link from the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the sponsor of the peace proposal under discussion here, then asked Lebanon to apologize to the Palestinians.

Lebanese officials offered various explanations for their refusal to let Arafat speak live to the summit, including one by President Emile Lahoud that they wanted to avoid “interference” by the Israelis.

Arafat, who was blocked by Israel from leaving the West Bank, delivered his speech on the Arabic satellite television channel Al-Jazeera, denouncing Israel’s “state terrorism” while hailing the Saudi plan as courageous.

The Saudis denied reports they too were pulling out of the summit, but the United Arab Emirates downgraded its delegation, complaining that the meeting “seems incapable of fulfilling the aspirations of the Arab world”.

Twelve of the 22 heads of state were already absent, including Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan, the only two countries to have made peace with Israel. They sent their prime ministers instead.

S.ARABIA PRESENTS PLAN: Wednesday’s dramatics erupted after Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz formally proposed the Arab world establish “normal” relations with Israel in exchange for its pullback from occupied lands and the right of refugees to return home.

Speaking at a large U-shaped table inside the hotel in a rain-soaked and security-tight Lebanese capital, Abdullah proposed the initiative be submitted to the UN Security Council.

But the Saudi call for peace contrasted sharply with appeals by Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad supporting a hard line against Israel and the 18-month Palestinian uprising.

“I propose the breaking off of Arab countries’ relations with Israel until the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace, with the total (Israeli) withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967,” Assad said.

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