The leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian National Authority will meet Thursday ahead of a broader Arab summit on Friday to coordinate positions for a U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference.

For the first time ever, the 22-nation Arab League is set to send a delegation to Israel. Its mission: to discuss a sweeping peace initiative with the Jewish state, as well as the threat posed by Hamas and other Islamic extremist movements.

The Arab League and the government of Israel both welcomed the appointment of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a top peacemaking envoy to the Middle East.

Foreign ministers of Arab League countries will hold an emergency session in Cairo Friday on the situation in Palestine and Lebanon, the secretary general of the 22-nation bloc said Thursday.

The foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt and Israel have met in Cairo to discuss an Arab initiative for Middle East peace. It is the first meeting between Tel Aviv and the members of the Arab League "working group" tasked with negotiating with Israel. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

The newly-elected president of Mauritania, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, says he wants an open debate about the Islamic country's almost decade-old diplomatic ties with Israel. Mauritania is one of few countries with such ties that belong to the Arab League, an organization of about 20 mostly Arabic states.

A senior Arab League official says the conference to reconcile Somalia's warring factions has been postponed until mid-May for security reasons. The league's head of African affairs, Samir Hosni, made the announcement in Cairo Wednesday as new violence broke out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The Arab League has urged Israel to accept a revived Arab peace proposal aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The call came at the end of a two-day Arab summit in Riyadh. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from the Saudi capital.

Arab leaders have re-launched a land-for-peace plan with Israel and are urging the Jewish state to accept the initiative. The leaders formally approved the plan Thursday at the conclusion of a two-day Arab League summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Arab countries should forge closer military and security ties, including nuclear cooperation, according to a document to be discussed at this week's Arab summit here.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she isn't ready to attempt a "big bang" for Middle East peace, but she is assembling a plan to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer to that goal.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa urged Israel on Tuesday to be more proactive in restarting the stalled Mideast peace talks following the creation of a new Palestinian unity government.