Tzipi Livni

       Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the Palestinian daily Al Ayamm in an interview published today morning that "Israel could not accept the Arab peace initiative in its current format." The Saudi initiative agreed upon at an Arab summit in Beirut in 2002, stipulates that Israel allow the return of Palestinian refugees and compensate those who don't want to return and that the current version of the initiative was primarily problematic due to its references to the right of return.  Later, they went to Beirut and added new phrases that made the initiative unacceptable from an Israeli standpoint. They added clauses stating that Palestinian refugees cannot be settled in areas where they currently reside, Livni explained. They referred to UN General Assembly Resolution (which addresses the issue of refugees from 1948), while they know that a two-state solution refers to the settlement of refugees where they currently reside,she elaborated. About Mecca deal, as a "disappointment" because it did not require the Palestinian government to recognize Israel or renounce terror. If Hamas will adhere fully to the demands, then it will become a legitimate partner, but "We are demanding that the government meet these three conditions," Livni said. (14,37)