RIYADH, March 25 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss a Saudi request that the Islamist group give full backing to an Arab peace plan with Israel, a senior Palestinian official said.

Saudi Arabia and other U.S.-allied Arab states want to relaunch an initiative offering the Jewish state normal ties in return for land at an Arab League summit in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Meshaal's visit is the second to Saudi Arabia in a week ahead of the Arab summit. Meshaal met King Abdullah and other Saudi officials on Tuesday, as part of a tour to drum up support for a new Palestinian unity government led by Hamas.

The government, which includes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Western-backed Fatah faction, wants the Arab summit to back it in the face of U.S. and Israeli attempts to boycott Hamas cabinet members.

The Palestinian official, who declined to be named, said Saudi Arabia last week asked Meshaal, the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, to give full support to the Arab peace initiative.

The official said Meshaal had promised to consider the request by Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally that is leading Arab diplomatic efforts to bring about an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The Saudis have asked Meshaal for a clear acceptance of the Arab initiative. Meshaal's response was positive," he said.

Asked about Hamas' position, senior Hamas official in Gaza Yahya Moussa told Reuters: "We are committed to the Mecca agreement and we will not enter into interpretations."

But another senior Hamas official said the group objected to the Arab initiative's call for normalisation with Israel, even though it was conditional.

The Arab plan offers Israel normal ties with all Arab states in return for full withdrawal from all land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel rejected the Arab initiative in 2002 and continues to object to some elements.

Hamas officials have welcomed the idea of a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including Arab East Jerusalem, but rejected an explicit recognition of Israel.

There was no confirmation in Saudi media or from the Hamas officials that Meshaal was in the country.

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