Dear Bandar

Writing in the popular Israeli daily newspaper Maariv, Shlomo Gazit urges the man behind the Saudi peace initiative, Prince Bandar, to adopt the same tactic that Egypt's Anwar Sadat did 30 years ago - visiting Jerusalem and addressing the Israeli people directly.

"An open letter to Bandar bin Sultan: In one week's time, the Arab League will convene in Riyadh to formulate and re-approve the Saudi Arabian peace initiative as the outline of a full and comprehensive peace deal between Israel and her Arab neighbors. It is supposed to be a peace deal that will end a six-decade long conflict.

I am writing to you as a member of the Israeli peace camp, an Israeli who believes that there is a 'partner' for negotiations and agreement on the Arab side and that the gaps between the Arab position and the Israeli position are bridgeable.

We are yet to see the final draft of the plan that is set to be approved by Riyadh. I can only hope that there will be no radicalization of the previous draft and that you will not place additional stumbling blocks on the path of talks. Moreover, I see the document that you are due to unveil as the starting point for the Arabs' negotiations, just as you must see the statements coming out of Jerusalem as Israel's opening stance. If this is not the case, and if you see the decisions taken in Riyadh as the final Arab position, a position that cannot be moved one iota and that leaves no room for flexibility or willingness to negotiate, then I am afraid that both I and the majority of the Israeli public will unite in rejecting the Riyadh document.

If your intentions are positive and you truly wish to end the conflict and reach an agreement, and the resolutions you pass will act merely as a starting point for talks, I am afraid that my government, the current government in Jerusalem, will not be able to rise to the challenge. The current Israeli government is politically weak. It will not make any brave or controversial decisions that could lead to its ouster. I am afraid that the prime minister and his ministers will come up with countless rationalizations to justify their refusal to enter into talks.

I appreciate your initiative, your honest desire to end the violence and the grave dangers of continued conflict, and your aspiration to promote a diplomatic solution. Under these circumstances, Israel cannot allow the opportunity for peace to slip through its fingers.

I call on the Royal House of Saud, to the heads of state who will be gathering in Riyadh next week and to you personally - choose the same path that the late Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, chose 30 years ago. Do not condition your willingness to enter into talks on decisions made by Ehud Olmert. This is too important and we cannot let the opportunity go by. I call on you: bypass the Olmert government, come to Jerusalem and speak directly to the Israeli people. By doing so, you would force the government to accept the peace proposal, to listen to what the majority of the Israeli public wants - and that is peace talks. Sadat once said that 90 percent of the obstacles that were preventing peace between Israel and the Arabs were psychological. By visiting Jerusalem and addressing the Knesset, he claimed that he removed this barrier.

I urge you: immediately after the end of the Riyadh summit, publicly announce that you want to come to Jerusalem and that you intend to present the Israeli people and the Israeli government with the plan adopted at the Arab League summit and that you want to explore immediate avenues to starting peace talks.

No Israeli government could turn down such a proposal. No government could avoid entering into a diplomatic process. The weakness of the coalition would not be able to withstand the pressure and the unequivocal voice of the people, which will welcome you with flowers and open arms."