CAIRO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) on Saturday asked the new Palestinian government led by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to adopt an Arab peace plan to end the conflict with Israel.

    Delegates of the 22 member states of the pan-Arab organization asked the Hamas-led Palestinian government to accept the Arab peace initiative adopted at the 2002 Arab summit in Beirut, visiting Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar told reporters following a meeting with AL chief Amr Moussa.

    Zahar said that he would convey that message to his government, but noted that Israel had not accepted the Arab peace plan yet.

    Under plan, Arab countries will normalize relations with Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from Arab territories taken in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and when an independent Palestinian state is established.

    Israel has rejected the plan.

    Zahar said that he also asked Arab countries to provide financial aid to the cash-stripped Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

    The United States and the European Union cut off financial aid to the Palestinian government after Hamas took office in March, urging the group to recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

    Israel has also halted the monthly transfer of about 50 million U.S. dollars of tax revenues it collects on behalf of the PNA since Hamas won the parliamentary elections in January.

    The Palestinians have been largely dependent on financial aid from the West. Enditem