Arab peace initiative

    Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni held talks Thursday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in first high-level talks between Israel and the Arab world on an Arab initiative calling for an exchange of land for peace. Israel and the United States have called the Arab initiative a possible basis for reviving the Arab-Israeli peace process. But Israel has expressed reservations over many of its provisions, including the initiative's call for a solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees. Also, Livni met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Jordanian Foreign Minister Abd al-Ilah al-Khatib in Cairo on Thursday. It was decided that the two would visit Israel in the next few weeks. Jordan's King Abdullah said in an interview to the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram that the Arab peace initiative was a historic opportunity and "if we do not act now, there will be nothing to negotiate about in the future. If we do not act swiftly, we will not find the time for negotiations after Israel completes its plans, the most dangerous of which are expanding the settlements and the separation fence," King Abdullah added.(16,25)