PARIS In a break with Washington and Israel, the presidents of France and Egypt called Monday for the creation of a Palestinian state and the holding of an international conference of those determined to save the peace process in the Middle East. In a joint statement issued after talks at the Elysee Palace, France's Jacques Chirac and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt declared the right of the Palestinian people to establish its own independent state.

They said they were convinced security can only be assured by the establishment of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on the principle of an exchange of land for peace and the realization of the legitimate political rights of the Palestinian people. In our opinion, that should lead to the realization of the right of the Palestinian people to establish its own independent state on the basis of its right to self-determination, they said in their joint statement.

The two leaders also called for a conference of countries determined to save peace. The two applauded the real efforts undertaken by the United States to the relaunching of the peace process and praised Palestinian acceptance of recent U.S. proposals on Israeli withdrawal from West Bank territory. We welcome the positive reaction of the Palestinians to the last American proposals. We make an urgent appeal to the Israeli government to respond in a positive and constructive manner now to these proposals, they said.

Any additional delay in the resumption of the peace process can only lead to more frustration which, in turn, will inevitably lead to violence and instability, as the latest developments have shown, the two leaders warned. We strongly believe that security can only be assured by the establishment of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East on the basis of putting into effect fully UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 425, as well as the principles agreed in Madrid, notably an exchange of land for peace and the realization of the legitimate political rights of the Palestinian people, they added.

Meanwhile, according to another report, Saudi Arabia has urged the United States to step in to prevent a further deterioration of the situation in the West Bank and Gaza after several Palestinians were killed in clashes last week. The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the Saudi cabinet at its weekly meeting on Monday chaired by King Fahd also urged President Bill Clinton's administration to push Israel to meet its peace commitments.

The cabinet asserts that the confrontations...reflect a spontaneous expression of the state of frustration and despair which the people in the West Bank and Gaza feel after all they faced in terms of intransigence and oppression from the Israeli government against the Palestinian people, SPA quoted a cabinet statement as saying. The council appeals to the international community, especially the United States, to take speedy and effective action to contain the dangerous situation and to take all measures to put the peace process back on track.

Last Thursday, Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip marking 50 years since what Palestinians describe as the catastrophe of Israel's establishment. Peace talks collapsed in March 1997 when Israel broke ground on a new Jewish settlement in Arab East Bait-ul-Moqaddas.