Israel should not parse the Arab peace plan, the Saudi foreign
minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said Thursday after a speech by
Israel's president, Shimon Peres, during a two-day interfaith
dialogue at the United Nations. Mr. Peres and King Abdullah of
Saudi Arabia were in rare, close proximity. Although they did
not meet, Mr. Peres addressed the king from the podium and read
extracts that he supported from the peace plan first proposed by
the kingdom in 2002. But Prince Saud said later that Mr. Peres
''chose part of the Arab peace plan and left other parts
untouched,'' adding that the proposal was ''a package deal.''
Israel has been reluctant to approve parts of the plan that
involve handing back the mostly Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem
and allowing the return of Palestinian refugees.