Israel should not parse the Arab peace plan, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said Thursday after a speech by Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, during a two-day interfaith dialogue at the United Nations. Mr. Peres and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia were in rare, close proximity. Although they did not meet, Mr. Peres addressed the king from the podium and read extracts that he supported from the peace plan first proposed by the kingdom in 2002. But Prince Saud said later that Mr. Peres “chose part of the Arab peace plan and left other parts untouched,” adding that the proposal was “a package deal.” Israel has been reluctant to approve parts of the plan that involve handing back the mostly Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem and allowing the return of Palestinian refugees.
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