Israel through Shimon Peres, the Israeli deputy prime minister, rejected the Arab Peace Plan and said Israel was not interested and would only talk about the bits it liked and not a full Peace Deal.

The plan, put forward after an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, offers Israel full diplomatic ties if it withdraws from all land seized in the 1967 war, allows the creation of a Palestinian state and a settlement for the Palestinian refugees.

Amr Moussa, the league's secretary general, read out a "Riyadh Declaration" reaffirming its commitment to an initiative offered in 2002.

The declaration "affirms a just and comprehensive peace ... based on the principles and resolutions of international legitimacy and the land-for-peace formula".

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, urged Israel "not to miss another chance" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to accept the revived plan.

"I reiterate the sincerity of the Palestinian will in extending the hand of peace to the Israeli people."