News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas promoted the 2002 Saudi initiative on Thursday in a meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. If Israel agrees to the initiative, “We could have a calm Middle East, a calm North Africa and Israel will live in an ocean of peace,” he said.

The Saudi initiative promises that Arab and Muslim countries will normalize relations with Israel if Israel gives the PA all land controlled by Jordan and Egypt between 1949 and 1967, releases terrorist prisoners and accepts millions of foreign Arabs as citizens.