| From the Torygraph. For the record, this is the picture illustrating the story: |
 An unnamed Syrian official Nancy Pelosi told the Saudi Arabian newspaper al Watan that Mr Olmert was stalling for time by being selective about the Arab nations he would sit down with. Mohammed al-Madhoun, senior adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in the Palestinian Authority, criticised Israel's refusal to discuss the return of Palestinian refugees to land now claimed by Israel.| Criticized by Syria and Hamas. The sun rose in the east today, you know. |
Diplomats had sensed the possibility of progress in the Middle East peace process, centred around the Arab Peace Plan which was first mooted five years ago. | They just got their stripey pants back from the scuttled Tehran offensive...what a waste of good dry cleaning. |
The plan, which promises normal Arab relations with Israel in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from land occupied in 1967, was re-energised when it was endorsed unanimously at last week's Arab League summit in Riyadh. It was in response to this that Mr Olmert spoke of a willingness to meet with erstwhile Arab enemies. He said: "If the Saudi King will initiate a meeting of the moderate Arab states, and invite me and the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, and present us the Saudi ideas, we will come to hear them and be happy to articulate our ideas as well."
A major problem is that Mr Olmert rules out meeting the Palestinian government led by Hamas, the militant movement that does not recognise Israel's right to exist. Other Arab nations regard the Hamas government as a legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.| And sadly, the sun will set in the west again this very night. |
|