Israeli Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer on Saturday welcomed Arab participation at next week's US-hosted Middle East peace conference saying it would bolster Arab moderates in the region.
"For the first time there is an excellent decision by the Arab League. All its foreign ministers will be present in Annapolis," near Washington, Ben Eliezer told Israeli public radio. "The meeting is taking place at a time when radicals and moderates in the Arab-Muslim world are on a collision course," he said.
"There is no doubt that this meeting is also aimed at contributing to reinforcing the moderate Arab camp," he added. Arab states, including regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, agreed on Friday to attend the Annapolis, Maryland, conference due to take place on Tuesday and which is aimed at reviving Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.
Israel's enemy Syria opened the door to possibly attending, saying Washington had agreed to include on the agenda the Golan Heights, captured by Israel from Syria in 1967, which Damascus had made a condition of its participation.
Ben Eliezer said the conference would still be a "success" despite the failure by Israel and the Palestinians to reach agreement on a joint document to be presented at the meeting. "The aim of Annapolis is to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Times is not on the side of the two parties... the fact that the meeting is taking place is already a success," he said.