The Secretary-General of the Riyadh-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah, today expressed the hope that President Bush’s recent call for an international conference on Middle East peace would put new focus on resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In a statement, Al-Attiyah urged Washington to play a fair and balanced role in resolving the conflict.

“The Israeli 1967 occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories should be brought to an end if Washington wants the new efforts and conference to be successful,” Al-Attiyah noted. “In addition, there is a dire need for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the termination of past tensions and conflicts in the Middle East.”

The GCC Secretary-General highlighted the importance of establishing a time frame to reach the expected goals of the conference. He also reaffirmed that the Arab Peace Initiative is the basis for achieving peace, security and stability in the region.

In related news, Arab League chief Amr Moussa issued a statement today stressing the importance of restarting negotiations between Arab countries and Israel and reaching a just and comprehensive peace within the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative.

In today’s statement, Moussa also echoed Al-Attiyah’s call for establishing a timetable to implement the agreed-upon international conventions.

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