|
Arab Diplomatic Consultations On Saudi Peace Plan
AMMAN, March 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Arab diplomats have begun drafting a position paper on the landmark Saudi peace initiative, which will be presented at the March 27-28 Arab summit in Beirut.
Saudi Arabia, along with Egypt and Jordan -- the only two Arab states officially at peace with Israel -- are drawing up the document, an Arab diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Saturday.
"The goal is to formulate the Saudi ideas in a clear and simple document which will constitute a message of peace to the international community and Israel, without abandoning any Arab rights," the source said.
The final product will be a "single-page document drawn up in general terms, but whose main goal is addressing a message of peace," he said.
The document will focus on Israel's total withdrawal from Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian territories, the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital and the fair settlement of the issue of Palestinian refugees, AFP reported.
In return, Arab states will end their hostility and establish full diplomatic ties with Israel and guarantee the security for the peoples and states of the region.
"The force of this initiative resides in its simplicity," the source said.
The working document will be reviewed by Arab foreign ministers on March 25, before being submitted two days later for a vote by the Arab heads of states gathered at the Beirut summit.
"There is nothing new in this initiative ... the interest raised is the singer and the song," said an Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"What is new is that it comes from Saudi Arabia, which does not have relations with Israel. The same initiative coming from Egypt or Jordan would not have the same impact," the official said.
In February, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz floated a blueprint for an end to the half-century Arab-Israeli conflict.
Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler proposed full Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands occupied in the 1967 Middle East War in exchange for full diplomatic relations with all Arab nations.
The proposal has won wide Arab and international support and some interest from Israel, but has yet to appear in document form.
However, the original Saudi overture appears to have been watered down following a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo last week, with an amended version now offering Israel a "comprehensive peace" instead of a "full normalization" of ties.
Nonetheless, Abdullah reiterated again in a television interview broadcast Thursday, March 14, that his peace proposal for the Middle East calls for "normal relations" with Israel.
For the Arab diplomat, the Saudi proposal, which "comes at a time when the situation in the region is explosive," has already had "some positive developments."
It "contributed to the US change of policy that was at the heart of UN Security Council resolution 1397," which was passed last week and, for the first time, mentions a Palestinian state, he said.
In an indication of the buzz of diplomatic activity, Jordan's Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb and Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher will travel Monday, March 18, to Saudi Arabia and then on to Egypt.
Moasher was also scheduled to meet Lebanese counterpart Mahmud Hammud in Beirut on Wednesday, March 20.
|
