Saudi Gazette report DEAD SEA, Jordan — Arab leaders said on Wednesday at the end of a one-day summit here that they would be ready to have a historic reconciliation with Israel in return for its withdrawal from land it occupied in 1967. A communique read by Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Arab states would back Palestinian-Israeli peace talks to end the decades-old conflict if it guaranteed the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Aboul Gheit called on states not to transfer their embassies to occupied Jerusalem. The communiqué said that "peace is a strategic option" for Arab states. "The summit has ended with a message of peace," said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. King Abdullah II of Jordan affirmed the success of the 28th Arab Summit saying: "despite the circumstances and challenges facing the Arab region, the Arab summit was a success thanks to the Arab leaders." The King of Jordan added that the Arab leaders discussed all the issues at the Arab summit with the utmost transparency. In addition, he reiterated the importance of promoting joint Arab action in a way that would overcome challenges and serve the Arab nation. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir disclosed after the end of the summit that Saudi Arabia has agreed to host the next annual Arab summit at the request of the United Arab Emirates. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, who led the Kingdom's delegation to the summit, arrived in Riyadh after attending the summit. Earlier opening the summit, Jordan's king said that there can be no peace or stability in the region without setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel. King Abdullah II, who hosted Wednesday's gathering of 21 Arab leaders, said the Palestinian quest for statehood remains the central issue in the Middle East. "We need to take the initiative to find solutions to all the challenges we face in order to avoid foreign interference in our affairs," he said. Addressing the summit, the host, King Abdullah of Jordan, said the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel remained the basis of any comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace deal. "Israel is continuing to expand settlements and wreck chances of peace ... There is no peace or stability in the region without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause through a two-state solution," the king said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas criticized Israeli policy in his speech to the summit. "The Israeli government has since 2009 worked on wrecking the two-state solution by accelerating the tempo of settlements and the confiscation of land," Abbas said. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also endorsed a two-state solution, telling summit participants this was the "only path to ensure that Palestinians and Israelis can realize their national aspirations and live in peace, security and dignity." — With agencies
