POOL

1. Palestinian president's plane taxiing on tarmac

2. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and other officials walking up red carpet

3. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime minister Ismail Haniyeh disembarking from plane

4. King Abdullah greeting Abbas

5. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani descending steps from plane

6. King Abdullah greeting Talabani

7. Sudanese president's plane taxiing on tarmac

8. King Abdullah walking along red carpet

9. Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir descending steps from plane

10. King Abdullah greeting Al-Bashir

11. Close-up of Saudi and Bahrain flags on plane

12. King Abdullah greeting King of Bahrain, Hamad Bin Isa

13. Wide top shot of convoy leaving

AP Television

14. Wide of Palestinian foreign minister Ziad Abu Amr talking to journalists

15. SOUNDBITE (English),Ziad Abu Amr, Palestinian foreign minister

"The Arab peace initiative enjoys consensus and now it has drawn the attention of the international community, even the Israelis are talking about the positive aspects of the Arab peace initiative. I think if the relevant parties are serious about peace making, here we have a plan, a good plan which can achieve peace security and stability in the region for all."

16. Cameraman

Arab leaders started arriving in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Tuesday ahead of an Arab League summit that will focus on a revived Arab peace initiative.

The summit is expected to reissue a 2002 offer to Israel to normalise relations if it returns to its pre-1967 borders and allows the return of Palestinian refugees.

The offer, initiated in 2002 by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, offers Israel recognition and permanent peace with all Arab countries in return for full Israeli withdrawal from lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

It also calls for setting up a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital and allowing Palestinian refugees to return to former homes in Israel.

It is thought Israel is pressing for a dilution of the return of all occupied lands, particularly as no Israeli government has ever countenanced the return of East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, nor is any Israeli government likely to agree to a return of all of the West Bank with substantial Jewish settler populations spread across the occupied territory.

By the same token, no Palestinian or Arab government will agree to giving up Jerusalem.

Another thorny issue is the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees who were expelled or forced to flee in 1948 after the creation of the state of Israel and the 1967 six day war.

The plan, which was originally rejected by Israel mainly because of the refugee issue, eventually foundered amid an escalation of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

Palestinian foreign minister Ziad Abu Amr said Arab leaders had "a good plan" to achieve security and stability in the region.

"The Arab peace initiative enjoys consensus and now it has drawn the attention of the international community, even the Israelis are talking about the positive aspects of the Arab peace initiative. I think if the relevant parties are serious about peace making, here we have a plan, a good plan which can achieve peace, security and stability in the region for all," he said.

Arab diplomats said privately Monday that Arab leaders were seeking fresh ways to moderate their position without being seen as giving in to Israeli or American demands to

change the 2002 offer.

Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia will proposing "a repackaging" of the deal, said the diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Arabs across the political spectrum have long argued that the decades-old conflict is at the heart of the region's problems, the key to marginalising radical ideologies and developing democratic political systems.

In February, Saudi Arabia brokered a deal creating a Palestinian unity government and ending months of infighting.

It is also trying to mediate in Lebanon between opposition forces led by pro-Iranian Hezbollah and the Western-backed government.

The European Union will highlight its support for a renewed Arab peace overture to Israel by sending its foreign policy chief to the upcoming summit in Saudi Arabia, officials said.

The Quartet of negotiators for the Middle East - the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - has been seeking a way to re-establish contacts with the new Palestinian national unity government, which includes Hamas militants unwilling to commit themselves to the Quartet's demands that it renounce violence, recognise Israel's right to

exist and adhere to previous international agreements.