JEDDAH, 6 June 2003 — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, nearly withdrew from the summit with US President George W. Bush in Egypt because of US pressure to speed up Arab normalization with Israel, it was reported yesterday.

Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, said Prince Abdullah rejected a US request to mention in the final summit communique that the Arab parties agreed to normalize ties with Israel as part of steps to build trust with the Jewish state.

Prince Abdullah threatened to pull out of Tuesday’s summit held in the Egyptian Red Sea resort at Sharm El-Sheikh before Bush stopped him after making sure the US delegation retracted the clause, the newspaper said.

According to sources close to the summit participants, differences emerged between Washington and the five Arab states represented at Sharm El-Sheikh, particularly over the issue of normalization with Israel.

The Egyptian news agency MENA reported later that differences over normalization had delayed the official opening of the summit.

Saudi Arabia in particular insisted that normalization should be comprehensive in exchange for Israel’s return of occupied land, according to sources close to the participants.