Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is seeking Saudi support for an Arab mini-summit on the Middle East conflict, according to an Arab diplomatic source.
The diplomat posted in Saudi Arabia said the Palestinians were proposing a minisummit "on the explosive situation in the Palestinian territories and the Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people".
"This question will be raised in talks which Mr. Arafat will have with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz on Monday," the source said, asking not to be named.
He gave no details of who would take part in a restricted summit.
Arafat flew in to the Red Sea city of Jeddah and met Saudi King Fahd to discuss the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the official Saudi news agency SPA reported.
The Palestinian ambassador to Riyadh said they also held talks on "the means to pressure the United States to implement the decision of the G8 summit," backing the deployment of observers in the Palestinian territories.
Arafat praised Saudi support for the Palestinians and "the refusal of Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to visit the United States in protest at the US alignment with Israel", said Mustafa Dib, who took part in the talks.
The Palestinian leader arrived from the Jordanian capital with international cooperation minister Nabil Shaath and chief peace negotiator Saeb Erakat in his delegation.
In Amman, King Abdullah II and Arafat stressed the need for international observers to be sent to the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian ambassador in Amman, Omar Khatib, said before the meeting with the Jordanian monarch that Arafat was seeking support for an extraordinary Arab summit.
After Saudi Arabia, Arafat is to travel on to the United Arab Emirates on Monday, according to the ambassador in Riyadh.
AFP