Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was quoted by Saudi media as urging Arab leaders ahead of the summit not to make concessions on the demand for the Palestinian refugees to return home.[1] Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, but Palestinian officials have agreed not to go against the peace plan. Moreover, on the eve of the Riyadh summit, American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas to agree to meet on a regular basis, but Israel maintained its economic embargo on the Palestinian government and its military pressure in the territory of the Palestinian Authority. These measures were viewed as a means to either weaken Hamas or, alternatively, to encourage a change in its position vis-à-vis Israel.