Jordan Times
Friday, March 30, 2007
Arab leaders call on
Israel to accept land-for-peace offer
King urges US to push Jewish state to accept initiative
RIYADH (Agencies) — Arab leaders on Thursday called on Israel to accept their
land-for-peace offer and open direct negotiations with the Arabs, hoping to give
a new push to the long-stalled Mideast peace process.
The gathering of Arab kings, emirs and presidents also expressed fears of a
nuclear arms race in the Middle East as they ended a two-day summit that tried
to tackle the numerous crises in the region, including the bloodshed in Iraq and
the increasing power of Iran. Unlike past summits that at times saw overt feuds
break out, the gathering showed unusual public unity as it revived the peace
offer, which it first made in 2002 only to meet rejection from Israel.
But still unknown is how the Arabs will persuade Israel to accept the
initiative, which the United States and Europe hope can help build momentum for
a resumption of peace talks. Israel has said it could accept the offer with some
changes, but the Arab leaders refused to amend it.
Instead, they created "working groups" that will seek to drum up support for the
deal from the US, UN and Europe. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan hope the smaller
groups will be able to be more flexible in promoting the offer to win
acceptance, despite the summit's rejection of changes.
King Abdullah called on the United States to push Israel to accept the offer,
and said peace between Arab states and Israel cannot be reached unless Israel
deals positively and seriously with the Arab initiative.
"That is the real challenge for the leaders of the region and the world,
especially the United States," the King said in his speech to the gathering (see
the speech’s official translation).
“Israel therefore must choose: Either live in a permanent cycle of war and
increasing hatred, or accept the peace option and coexistence, which is long
overdue, and restore the confidence of people in the region in peace. ”King
Abdullah, who returned yesterday, sent a letter to Saudi King Abdullah, saying
the “success of the summit showed that Arabs were serious about achieving a just
and comprehensive peace”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Israel sees the "initiative as
interesting and as the possible basis for a dialogue. We're not being more
specific than that because we need to really sit down and study it". "There is
no time element for the peace initiative. If Israel signs this year, it will be
this year. If it will agree next year, then it will be next year," Saudi Foreign
Minister Saud Al Faisal told reporters Thursday at a press conference at the end
of the summit. "Arab countries' commitment is real."
Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa criticised Israel's stance, saying it is
demanding Arabs naturalise relations with it before it makes any concessions.
But he said Arabs were putting their hopes in the peace plan because of the new
US determination to make progress.
"The Arab world is in a state of agitation," Musa said. "So for now, we will
give the Americans time to produce whatever they can produce. Let's give them
the benefit of the doubt and then we will reassess and see." US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and UN chief Ban Ki-moon both toured the region ahead of
the summit, trying to build momentum for the peace process and the Arab
initiative.
Negotiators from the Quartet of Mideast mediators — the US, UN, European Union
and Russia — hope to meet with Israel for the first time before the summer, EU
foreign policy chief Javier Solana said. The Quartet will also hold talks with
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the next few weeks,
he said.
The leaders painted the peace offer as the cornerstone of an attempt to being a
new energy and unity to the Arab world in facing the region's mounting crises.
The leaders warned repeatedly of the possibility of Iraq's violence and
sectarian divisions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims spreading. The Sunni Arab
leaders are also worried over the increasing influence of mainly Shiite Iran and
possible fallout from its standoff with the West over its nuclear programme.
The summit's final statement warned of "a dangerous and destructive arms race in
the region". The leaders called for greater cooperation among Arab nations to
develop their own peaceful nuclear energy programmes, seeking to prevent a
monopoly of nuclear technology by Israel and Iran.
In a final resolution approved by the summit, the Arab leaders called on Israel
"to accept the Arab peace initiative and seize the available opportunity to
resume direct and serious negotiations on all tracks." It said the initiative
was the "rightful framework" for achieving peace.
The initiative offers Israel recognition and permanent peace with all Arab
countries in return for Israeli withdrawal from lands captured in the 1967
Middle East war.
It also calls for setting up a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its
capital and a "just solution" to the issue of Palestinian refugees forced out of
lands in what is now Israel.
Israel rejects a full withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and it
strongly opposes the influx of large numbers of Palestinian refugees into the
Jewish state. It seeks changes to water down the provisions on refugees in
particular.
The summit ended Thursday without an agreement on who will participate in the
working groups due to promote the peace initiative. Arab governments will work
that out later, but membership could be a significant issue. Some want them to
be restricted to the more moderate states Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the
United Arab Emirates in hopes they can convince the US and Israel to come on
board.
But Syria may want to be on board, fearing it will be sidelined. The number of
working groups has not been determined, but Jordan has said one of them could
directly approach Israel.
Syria — which will host next year's summit — sharply opposed any changes in the
initiative. But in a summit where unity was the theme, Syrian President Bashar
Assad was muted in his insistence the Arabs stick to their original offer.
He said the summit was sending a "strong message to those forces eyeing our land
and wealth... that we are an Arab nation that doesn't submit to oppression and
refuses to bargain over its rights".