Meir Sheetrit, a senior cabinet minister of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party, on Wednesday urged that Israel open peace negotiations on the basis of the 2002 Saudi peace plan, which spoke of full Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for a full return to the pre-1967 borders.

Israel should invite the Saudis for talks on the initiative, Sheetrit said, adding that he had made the suggestion to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon when the Saudi plan was made public, and that he had told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "to invite the Saudis to come to Israel" to discuss the peace plan.

"That is the right thing to do today, to re-set the international agenda, to bring the moderate Arab states," he said.

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According to Sheetrit, who left the right-centrist Likud to join Kadima, Israel should "accept the initiative of the moderate states, of the Saudis, and to propose to them 'Come, let's talk about the initiative.'"

Asked if that meant agreement to a full withdrawal, Sheetrit said, "If we are speaking of a full peace, we want a full peace, [but] we don't necessarily have to accept every detail and initiative on a withdrawal to the 1967 lines. We'll have to talk about this. But let us talk," he told Israel Radio.

"Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] could be invited to this discussion, to have a concrete discussion and finally, once and for all, to finish the matter one way or another. In other words, if you want peace, ahlan wasahlan we welcome you, we are prepared to make far-reaching concessions and to fix the permanent borders of the State of Israel."

Asked about Sheetrit's comments, government spokeswoman Miri Eisin told reporters: "These are not the Israeli
government's ideas. These are his [Sheetrit's] ideas."

Abbas accepts Qatari plan for unity
Meanwhile, Qatar has come up with a plan to end the infighting between Fatah and Hamas, establish a Palestinian unity government and release captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Abbas has agreed to the plan, which was presented to him by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani. The foreign minister also presented the plan to Khaled Meshal, the Damascus-based head of Hamas' political bureau, but Hamas' position on the matter is not yet clear.

Palestinian sources said Meshal has agreed to the plan in principle and that Abbas has sent a representative to Meshal to finalize the details. However, senior Hamas officials in Gaza told Haaretz that Hamas had not agreed to the plan.

According to the Qatari plan, the Palestinian unity government will in effect accept the conditions that Israel and the international community have imposed - recognition of Israel and agreements made with Israel, and an end to violence - which will allow for the renewal of peace talks. The Palestinian government envisioned in the plan will be headed by an independent figure who is not aligned with any Palestinian faction, and will include ministers from Hamas, Fatah and other factions, as well as those not affiliated with any party.

The Qatari plan also calls for a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution and a mutual and simultaneous cessation of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the plan, the government will recognize agreements signed and commitments made by the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas will join PLO institutions in accordance with the 2005 Cairo agreement, and the new version of the Palestinian National Council will meet within a year. In addition, the plan calls for Shalit to be released as part of a prisoner-exchange deal.

Noam Shalit, the father of the captive soldier, said Tuesday he hoped one of the many suggestions that had been raised would help bring his son home. A Palestinian civil war, he added, would not contribute to the efforts to secure his son's release.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Monday that Israel had agreed to release 900 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including women, children and elderly prisoners, as part of a deal to ensure Shalit's release, but Hamas turned down the offer. Egypt threatened Meshal that if an agreement for a prisoner release is not reached by the end of Ramadan, on October 22, the Hamas leader would be held responsible for a wide-scale Israeli military attack in the Gaza Strip.