Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, following Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer\'s lead, has responded positively to the Saudi Arabian \"peace proposal.\" Saudi Arabia\'s Prince Abdullah said that he is in favor of the entire Arab world recognizing and making peace with Israel in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, including the Old City of Jerusalem. Peres said that Israel welcomes the initiative, and called for the opening of immediate negotiations regarding the proposal with no preconditions. “The entry of Saudi Arabia into the world of peace is important,” Peres said this morning, after his meeting with the Foreign Minister of the European Union, Javier Solana.



Cabinet Secretary Gideon Sa’ar said today that while he doubts that any Israeli government could ever agree to such a withdrawal, the government views the proposal positively. President Moshe Katzav expressed the hope that the Saudi leader would come to Israel, and said that he is willing to go to Riyadh if such an invitation is proffered.