CAIRO -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said on Saturday that Israel should first withdraw from re-occupied Palestinian areas before there could be any discussion of a Middle East peace conference, Reuters reported.

Maher was responding to reporters about plans announced by the United States to hold such a peace conference this Summer.

"The first step before any talk about any meeting or conference...is the withdrawal of Israeli Forces from Palestinian land which it occupied in the recent weeks and confirmation of Israel's commitment not to return under any pretext," Maher told reporters.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced plans for the meeting on Thursday after talks between the so-called "Quartet" Group, comprising the United States, the United Nations, Russia and European Union. The grouping was set up to coordinate Palestinian-Israeli mediation efforts.

The United States has sought to discourage high expectations about the conference, saying only ministers would attend and it would probably not propose a final settlement.

Maher said any such gathering should include Israelis and Palestinians, as well as Lebanon and Syria, both of which do not have peace agreements with Israel.

He said Egypt and Jordan, which have both signed peace deals with the Zionist regime, should also attend alongside Saudi Arabia, which proposed a peace plan that was adopted by Arab states at an Arab summit in March.

In addition, he said the "Quartet" should be present.

Foreign Ministers of the Arab League are due to meet in Cairo next week to follow up on the Saudi-inspired plan which offers Israel normal relations if it withdraws from all occupied Arab land, accepts a Palestinian State and accepts the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

Israel has continued raids on West Bank towns and villages since winding down a large-scale offensive across the West Bank last month. The Israeli attacks were launched after a spate of Palestinian suicide bombings.