Palestinians committed to peace meeting

UNITED NATIONS - President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday the Palestinian Authority was fully committed to a planned U.S.-hosted Middle East peace conference and he saw no obstacle to holding it.

"Today there is not the slightest obstacle to promoting the holding of a peace meeting, which will take place shortly," Abbas said in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, referring to U.S. plans to stage such a gathering in November.

"We are very committed to the substance of that meeting, as proposed," Abbas said. "We would hope all parties would sit down to negotiation."

Despite a recital of Palestinian hardships similar to that in past speeches, the Palestinian leader struck a generally upbeat note, saying a "historic horizon" was approaching for the Middle East peace process.

U.S. officials have indicated the conference, for which no invitations have been issued so far, would group Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Arab states have yet to state categorically whether they would attend. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal called on Israel this week to halt the building of Jewish settlements and of a defensive barrier in the occupied West Bank to encourage Arabs to take part.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in his speech to the assembly that the conference "may, if well prepared, provide an important opportunity to achieve long-awaited progress."

SAME QUESTIONS

Abbas said after his speech he believed the conference could pave the way for a subsequent peace agreement. "I think that it could be reached, yes," he told Reuters, declining to say how soon.

But, in his U.N. speech, Abbas followed a series of rhetorical questions on whether it was time to solve outstanding issues by saying, "I hope that I will not have to come back to this rostrum next year to ask these same questions."

Abbas said any agreement reached would be put to a referendum "involving the entire Palestinian people."

The upturn in Middle East peace prospects has followed the takeover of Gaza in June by the Hamas militant movement, which led Abbas to fire the Hamas-led Palestinian government, take control of the West Bank and pursue talks with Israel.

"I affirm to you that ... the voice of peace and faith continues to be stronger than any other voice in our country," Abbas told the General Assembly.

"We need to move forward hand-in-hand on the shining path of peace. ... There is a historic horizon that is emerging. Let us remain united to make this a reality."

Israel's seats in the General Assembly hall were empty on Friday, but Israeli officials said that was because of the Jewish Succoth holiday. Abbas later met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Earlier, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa called the conference proposal a "positive step" but said it was important it be "a serious conference, with all core issues on the table and the atmosphere conducive to understanding, with a timeline."

"We mean business. And we on the Arab side have shown ... that we are ready for peace with Israel. We are ready to turn the page," he told a news conference.