Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said last night he is willing to travel to the upcoming Arab League Summit in Beirut, to present Israel\'s views on the Saudi peace plan. The Saudis are planning to formally introduce the proposal to the Arab world at the conference, which will take place this coming Wednesday and Thursday.
Under the plan, Israel would relinquish all land it acquired in its defensive 1967 Six-Day War in exchange for normalization of relations with the Arab bloc. Sharon rejects the notion of a full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, but has said that he would be willing to make \"painful compromises\" for a true Israeli-Arab peace deal. Sharon discussed the idea of attending the Beirut summit with US Vice President Richard Cheney when the two met in Israel last week.
Israeli officials are still not sure whether or not they will allow PLO leader Yasser Arafat to attend this week\'s summit. At a press conference with Cheney earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sharon indicated that he would allow Arafat to travel to Beirut only if he took steps to end the incitement and prevent further terror attacks against Israel. Sharon also indicated that Arafat might not be allowed back into Israel if he delivered an incitement-laced speech in front of the Arab delegations.
Under the plan, Israel would relinquish all land it acquired in its defensive 1967 Six-Day War in exchange for normalization of relations with the Arab bloc. Sharon rejects the notion of a full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, but has said that he would be willing to make \"painful compromises\" for a true Israeli-Arab peace deal. Sharon discussed the idea of attending the Beirut summit with US Vice President Richard Cheney when the two met in Israel last week.
Israeli officials are still not sure whether or not they will allow PLO leader Yasser Arafat to attend this week\'s summit. At a press conference with Cheney earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sharon indicated that he would allow Arafat to travel to Beirut only if he took steps to end the incitement and prevent further terror attacks against Israel. Sharon also indicated that Arafat might not be allowed back into Israel if he delivered an incitement-laced speech in front of the Arab delegations.