A three-day seminar at a Quaker retreat centre in Oxford was this week due to explore whether a Saudi-led Arab peace initiative is the best hope for solving the Arab-Israeli conflict.
It was sponsored by the Oxford Research Group, an independent think-tank active in conflict resolution.
Although the 15 participants were not officially named, they were expected to include the former Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former ambassador to the UK, as well as Israeli government advisers, according to the Sunday Times. One-time Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath was also due to attend.
The Arab initiative, led by the Saudis in 2002, proposed a settlement based on Israel's return to its 1967 borders.
