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Pursuing a worthwhile Arab initiative....

"The Arab summit meeting in Riyadh this month promises a unique opportunity to invigorate the quest for peace. The gaps between Israel and the Arabs have never been narrower. The international Quartet — the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations — must seize the moment and act swiftly to make a breakthrough.

With the threat of sectarian conflict spreading beyond Iraq, Palestinian infighting and political stalemate in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia has been galvanized into action. Following deft diplomacy on all three fronts, the Saudis intend to use the meeting to re-launch the Arab Peace Initiative, first developed at the Beirut summit in 2002."

These are not the words of what some might describe as the "usual suspects." They are part of an op-ed piece in the IHT written by Rosemary Hollis, director of research at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London and Daniel Kurtzer onetime U.S. ambassador to Egypt and Israel and a professor of Middle East policy studies at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.

Just perhaps something might come from the upcoming conference although the signs aren't all that encouraging. Each party, be it it the Israelis or the Arabs, has its own issues to address.

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