JERUSALEM, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz says any Palestinian peace initiative must be based on a Saudi plan which calls for two states along the 1967 borders.
It was one of the first times an Israeli official has publicly considered the plan, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
Speaking to Israel Business Conference delegates Sunday, Peretz said the 2002 Saudi initiative should be the basis of all negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, the newspaper said.
The initiative has never gotten much support in Israel as it calls for the country to withdraw back to its 1967 borders.
In Washington, former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon essentially echoed Peretz's endorsement of the initiative by offering his support to the plan as well.
"The war in Lebanon created an opportunity that obligates Israel to motivate a new political process on the basis of the road map and the Saudi initiative, which recognizes Israel's right to exist," he told a closed session of the Saban Forum.
The paper said the statements come two weeks after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted at a major policy change.
