Arabs seek new ME peace initiative

Arab League foreign ministers have asked to send a delegation to a ministerial meeting of the Security Council in September to initiate a new effort to bring lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians after nearly 60 years of conflict.

Yahya Mahmassani, the Arab League's envoy to the United Nations, said he had personally discussed the foreign ministers' request with the 15 Security Council members and "there is very strong support" for the idea of convening a council meeting. It will likely take place between Sept. 20-24, he said.

"Now, we are working ... on what outcome would be coming out of this meeting," Mahmassani told The Associated Press.

He said bringing the question of the Arab-Israeli conflict to the Security Council will be one of the main items on the agenda of an Arab ministerial meeting on Sunday at Arab League headquarters in Cairo. The Arab ministerial delegation to go to New York will probably be selected at the meeting, he said.

Arab foreign ministers decided to take the issue to the Security Council at a meeting in Cairo on July 15, two days after Israel launched an offensive against Hezbollah militants after they captured two Israeli soldiers, he said.

At that meeting, Arab ministers displayed frustration and declared the Mideast peace process "dead," blaming Israel for its demise.

"The Middle East peace process has failed," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said after that meeting. "We are going to the Security Council this is a unanimous position to discuss the whole situation from scratch."

The road map was drafted by the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia known as the Quartet and aimed to end the most recent Middle East violence and establish a Palestinian state by 2005. But Israel and the Palestinians have failed to carry out the parallel steps in the peace plan and it has languished.

The Arab initiative to try to restart the peace process from scratch at this time is significant, because the unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict is at the heart of the current Palestinian-Israeli fighting in Gaza and the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah militants in south Lebanon.