The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan on Wednesday arrived in Israel for talks on Arab peace initiative on behalf of Arab League(AL), local media reported.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in a statement that the visit by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and his Jordanian counterpart Abdulelah Al-Khatib is " historic," marking the first time that AL representatives will hold official talks with Israel.
The ministers were due to meet separately on Wednesday with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Knesset(parliament) Speaker Dalia Itzik.
The discussions will focus on the Arab peace initiative, which offers to extend recognition to Israel by all Arab countries provided that it withdraws from all Arab territories it occupied in the 1967 six-day war, including East Jerusalem.
Regev said the initiative can "be of tangible benefits to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process" and serve as a "vehicle" to promote progress.
The Arab League, he added, also had a "very important role to play" in supporting moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his struggle with the Islamic Hamas movement.
During a private meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Quartet envoy Tony Blair Tuesday evening, the two agreed on the importance of harnessing moderate Arab nations to advance negotiations.
Source: Xinhua
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