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Arabs try outreach to Israel, U.S. Jews
Updated 2/12/2007 7:39 AM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions | Subscribe to stories like this


Enlarge By Suhaib Salem, Getty Images

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, left, meets with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Feb. 8 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Saudis hope that reaching out to Israel and the U.S. will secure a solution for Palestinians.

By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON � Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, are making some of their most public overtures ever to Israel and American Jews in an effort to undercut Iran's growing influence, contain violence in Iraq and Lebanon and push for a Palestinian solution.
ON DEADLINE: Can the efforts succeed?

The high-profile gestures coincide with Saudi Arabia's lead role last week in brokering a deal for a coalition Palestinian government.

Last month, Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's departing ambassador to the United States, attended a Washington reception sponsored by American Jewish organizations. The event honored a State Department diplomat appointed to combat anti-Semitism.

The appearance of a Saudi diplomat is "unprecedented," said


[Well, Christians, Sunnis, and Jews of the Middle East feel threatened by the theocratic Shiite regime in Iran.]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-11-arabs-outreach_x.htm