RIYADH, July 21: In a major diplomatic initiative, all the major Palestinian factions are said to be working on a ceasefire proposal in their fight against Israel. This step would not only permit holding elections for the Palestinian Authority in a free and fair atmosphere, but would also ultimately result in the creation of a Palestinian state, side-by-side with Israel, within a period of three years.

“All the Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are working on a paper that has all the conditions that they will subscribe for stopping the continued fighting,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal was reported as saying. The ceasefire would initially enable the Palestinians to hold elections next year, but would then continue, he added. President Bush, during his meeting with the Arab foreign ministers group — which included the Saudi foreign minister, Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher and the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher — agreed to influence Israel to pull its troops out of the Palestinian territories once the Palestinians agree to a cease-fire.

“A cease-fire is a necessary element in order to have the withdrawal, in order to have the elections, in order for the Palestinian state to be created,” Prince Saud said.

“The Palestinians are right now sitting and negotiating together and between them, and rationalizing, “Hey, do we want a state or not?” said Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, who also attended the meeting with President Bush.

Reports indicate that the Arabs have proposed a plan with the endgame in three years. While giving out the details of the meeting with President Bush earlier, the Jordanian foreign minister said the US administration’s support “is more solid than we thought.” Bush, he said, stressed his commitment to simultaneous movement on security, political and economic fronts, and meeting the three-year deadline the president set last month for full Palestinian statehood.

Observers believe that the Americans are again emphasizing that they are ready to consider simultaneous movements in all fronts for movement in the direction of an overall peace in the region. Some elements within the administration, and indeed the Israeli government, have been insisting on “security first” before any real movement towards a comprehensive peace plan.

In a blunt offensive, the Arab side is also emphasizing that Sharon needs to go for the sake of peace and tranquillity in the region.

“The region would be in a turmoil if (the) Israeli Prime Minister remained in power,” the Saudi foreign minister said. He blamed Sharon’s attitude for holding up peace efforts, and said he would be much more optimistic about the (peace) prospects if the right-wing leader was “not there.”

At a point in time when the Israeli government has been clamouring for the ouster of Yasser Arafat, the comments by the Saudi foreign minister stating that Sharon must go for the sake of peace are being regarded by analysts here as important.