The decision of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to hold the Arab League summit in Riyadh later this month to discuss proposing the 2002 Arab peace initiative anew, offers a fresh opportunity to revive the peace process between Israel and its neighbors, and to bolster the moderate axis in the Middle East against the emerging Iranian nuclear threat.

Abdullah's original initiative proposed a simple formula: A complete Israeli withdrawal from the territories, including Jerusalem, in return for normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab world. At the Beirut summit, which approved the plan as "the Arab peace initiative," significant changes were made. It was established that the Israeli pullout should be to the lines of June 4 , 1967, and a "refugees article" was added, calling for "a just and agreed-upon solution" to the problem according to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194, which the Palestinians interpret as recognition of the right of return. Israel, under Ariel Sharon, had its reservations about the Saudi initiative, but in recent months Prime Minister Ehud Olmert altered his approach and began referring to "positive elements" in the initiative. This was his way of signaling that there is something to talk about.

The 2002 initiative was launched at the worst possible moment: Hundreds of Israelis were murdered in suicide bombings and the attack at the Park Hotel in Netanya resulted in Israel's operation "Defensive Shield" in the West Bank. The circumstances today are absolutely different. Saudi Arabia is once again talking about a peace initiative, following the second Lebanon war and the pledge of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the map. The Saudi message is that Israel will be a welcome partner in the region - if it pulls out of the territories. As such, Abdullah took a stance opposing Ahmadinejad and called on him not to intervene in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

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Saudi Arabia holds a unique status because of the king's role as the guardian of Islam's holiest sites and also because of the country's oil wealth. It is therefore in a position, more than any other state, to offer religious and economic backing to peace settlements between Israel and the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia and Israel also share concerns about the growing strength of Iran and both wish to prevent another war in the region. They have a shared interest in the renewal of the peace process. Taking advantage of this opportunity requires both sides to show flexibility and openness. The Saudis need to understand, as Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has said, that Israel has red lines on the issue of refugees, and it will not be able to accept the right of return as the basis for dialogue. It is therefore important that the Riyadh summit conclude with a more pragmatic formulation of the initiative.

It is the duty of the government of Israel not to reject the hand that is being offered by Saudi Arabia. Olmert must consider the Arab peace initiative to be an appropriate basis for dialogue, one that will lead to a permanent settlement and a settling of the status of Israel in the region, and which will serve as a definitive response to Ahmadinejad and his partners in the extremist camp. A renewed peace process will save Olmert's government from the impasse in which it is stuck. It is important that the four weeks left before the summit in Riyadh involve intensive diplomatic efforts to formulate an agreed-upon framework for the regional peace initiative.