Arab FMs re-ratify 2002 plan

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Arab foreign ministers recommitted to their 2002 Israeli-Arab peace plan.

The re-ratification of the plan Thursday at a summit meeting of Arab foreign ministers came a month after some Arab nations, led by Syria, had called for a reevaluation of the plan.

Israel says the plan, offering comprehensive peace in exchange for a return to 1967 territorial lines, contains positive elements but is not sufficiently clear on barring a return of Palestinians to Israeli territory.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had urged the Arab foreign ministers to re-ratify the plan. Abbas is attending the summit taking place in Damascus.

Hamas sent mixed messages to the ministers’ meeting. Hamas’ leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal, told a London-based newspaper he would consider a truce with Israel, but Hamas leaders in Gaza held a rally calling on Arab nations to shun Israel and join Hamas in armed battle against the Jewish state.

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