Revive The Saudi Peace Plan

AR Al-Saeed???s essay contributes a much-needed perspective on the stake the United States has in achieving an Arab Israeli peace. While I think he glosses over divisions that yet remain among the Arab states on any number of topics, the reality is that there will be unity of purpose in support of the Arab Peace Initiative. The Saudis under the leadership of King Abdullah have significantly advanced toward becoming the leading diplomatic light in the Arab world ??? and the Egyptians refuse to yield pride of place. This puts the two strongest Arab nations firmly behind peace.

Just as importantly, perhaps, for the US audience, the manner in which Al-Saeed suggests the conditions Israel ought to meet before negotiations begins illuminates the very absurdity of establishing pre-conditions to negotiations. Let???s compare:

1) Israel must lift its siege (???siege under any name is war???), compensate victims, apologize, and promise not to do it again. Hamas must (as the Palestinian Authority has) stop firing rockets and renounce violence generally.
2) Israel must unconditionall accept the Arab peace plan. Hamas must recognize all previous commitments of the Palestinian Authority, including the Oslo Accords which share the territory for peace formula at the heart of the Arab peace plan.

If the conditions are onerous on Israelis, they are just as onerous on Palestinians. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, and all that ??? a point that George Mitchell makes any time he talks about negotiations: the only acceptable or sensible precondition is a cessation of violence. Oh, and by the way, this from the late Israeli Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin: ???You don't make peace with friends. You make it with very unsavory enemies.???

Enough excuses. Get to work. Oh, and President Obama, be prepared to spend some of your political capital on this, because Hamas and Abu Mazen, just like Bibi and Tzipi, will not be the only ones sticking their necks out on this.

In addition to the many astute observations he makes about the impact recent events have had on our Arab allies, Al-Saeed correctly details how the absence of peace has emboldened extremists. I would add that the extremists on both the Palestinian and Israeli side have benefited from the last eight years of no peace process ??? how else to explain the election of Hamas in 2006 and the Israeli elections this year?

Significant portions of both the Israeli and Palestinian electorates have lost faith in the ability of the pro-peace parties to deliver a better life. The recent Israeli assault on Gaza did nothing but amplify this trend.

Yet, Al-Saeed is also right that events have converged to present us with a tremendous opportunity at this moment. By arguing for a return to the Madrid process, Al-Saeed allows for the bypassing of the broken promises and recriminations of both sides, while not ignoring the history since then. Such an approach would require Israeli and Palestinian leaderships committed to a two state solution and renouncing violence.

It would also require a strong commitment from President Obama to help broker the negotiations (as Bill Clinton was committed) and a public commitment to a two-state solution (as George W. Bush had) ??? combined with the leadership and consensus-building skills which Barack Obama has honed over his years in public life.

Just as the Madrid process was not derailed by Israeli distaste for Yasir Arafat or internal divisions among the Palestinians, neither can the new process be held hostage by Palestinian refusal to negotiate with an Israeli government with doubtful commitment to the two-state solution or a divided Israeli government.

???The clock is ticking, and history will not wait much longer.???

I could not agree more.

Dr. James Zogby

Amazing exposé on this dramatic and enduring problem! Only omission : not the slightest reference to any opposing view???
Our brilliant academic has the solution???
Suffice it: (1) that Israel withdraws to its pre-1967 borders; (2) to establish a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital; (3) to accept the return of Palestinian refugees; and of course (3) that Israel fully compensates Gaza victims.
This should be coupled with : (1) a clear apology and a commitment to never again resort to such disproportionate methods; (2) an unconditional acceptance of the Arab peace plan; and (3) a new Madrid conference to ratify the solution and authorize the resources needed for implementation.
This reminds me of French trade unions : if you refuse to yield to their demands it means you refuse to negotiate ???
Such a simple prescription ! Enough with procrastination ! Let???s move forward !
Laughable if it were not so sad ! I doubt this column will enhance de reputation of our academic, although undoubtedly it will help his career in Saudi universities???

No need to revive anything. All the peace agreements achieved so far between Israel and its Arab neighbors have been based on one fundamental UN Security Council Resolution: 242. Israel's Arab population can also be resolved within the context of the application of this resolution.

This resolution, in a very wise and pragmatic way draws for us the contours within which to achieve an accommodation between Israel and its Arab neighbors. It is based on the continuing existence of the states that were engaged in war in 1967 ??? the Six-Day War ??? and on the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from territories (note, not all territories!!!) captured during that was but only based on the achieving of an agreement between the parties on secure boundaries.

In this resolution there is no mention of the concepts of "Palestinians" and a "Palestinian state" which have only come to the fore later on, envisioned by Arafat as a stage towards his strategic goal of wiping Israel off the face of earth in stages, step-by-step, and such a statelet would be such a stage.

Thus, it is high time most of the western bank be taken over by Jordan that had controlled it prior to the Six-Day War and all of the Gaza Strip be taken over by Egypt which controlled the area prior to that war as well. And since both Jordan and Egypt are functioning Arab countries ??? something that can't be expected, for objective reasons, of a "Palestinian Arab state" in these divided territories even under the best of circumstances, and since both already have functioning peace agreements with Israel in place, based on 242, it is only logical for these three states, backed up by Arab countries and the international community to come to terms.

It is important to note, the Palestinian Arabs who oppose this approach had had the opportunity to set up their own independent Palestinian Arab state on the entire territory of the western bank, eastern Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip between the years of 1948 and 1967, when these territories were under full, total Arab control, but they did not. During the very same time they invested their time, efforts and precious means to attack Israeli citizens on Israel's Green Line, obviously signaling what they stated in their documents: hoping to mass murder as many Jews as possible and drive them into the sea. An "independent Palestinian Arab state" in the disputed territories is designed as a step in the very same direction. Thus, 242 is the answer.

BEING IN PEACE WITH ISRAEL IS VERY SIMPLE - DON'T ATTACK US. THAT'S IT. ALL SIDES KNOW IT.
FROM THE MOMENT ISRAEL PULLED OUT OF GAZA THREE YEARS AGO HAMAS STARTED THE WAR - OVER 8000 MISSILES WERE THROWN AT OUR SITIES. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN ISRAEL WERE KILLED AND THOUSANDS INJURED.
NOBODY IN THE WORLD WILL TOLERATE IT. AND WE WILL NOT EITHER.
AND THIS KNOWLEDGE SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE.

REGARDING THE TRUE MOTIVES OF SAUDI PLAN - TAKE A LOOK - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV28b1_6HGU

Unless the new US administration takes immediate steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the US-Arab relationship, and the stability of the region are at risk. King Abdullah???s peace initiative demands more painful compromises from the Palestinians, not the Israelis. Still the initiative has not seen the light because of the Israeli refusal to engage in a just and lasting peace. The Peace initiative will be short lived like many other initiatives because of the Israeli refusal to engage it. If the US wants to continue playing a leadership role in the region, it will have to revise its policies vis a vis Israel and Palestine. Israel is more of a liability than an asset to the American interests in the region and its recent bloody attacks and crimes in Gaza proves it. It is about time for the US policy in the region to be objective and balanced and start placing the best interest of the American people above others.

How's this for freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I am cancelling my subscription to Newsweek over your yellow journalism. Google Yellow Journalism and see if you agree.

This plan is a non-starter because it is an absolute absurdity. The land Israel took in 1967 by means of defensive war is theirs by international law. They can, if they want, negotiate with the other belligerents. If they so choose, the time and terms are theirs to dictate.

As for the Palestinians wanting all or even some of Jerusalem as a capital, that is equally absurd. Imagine, if you will, Presbyterians of Scottish descent living in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs adjacent to Washington, DC announcing that they plan to create their own country with a chunk of DC as their capital.

Unless and until the Saudis and other Arab countries accept that Israel is here to stay on its own terms, their peoples (including the Palestinians) will continue to languish in poverty and ignorance while Israel continues to amaze the world with its unrivaled economic growth and scientific innovation.

This plan is a non-starter because it is an absolute absurdity. The land Israel took in 1967 by means of defensive war is theirs by international law. They can, if they want, negotiate with the other belligerents. If they so choose the time and terms are theirs to dictate.

As for the Palestinians wanting all or even some of Jerusalem as a capital, that is equally absurd. Imagine, if you will, Presbyterians of Scottish descent living in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs adjacent to Washington, DC announcing that they plan to create their own country with a chunk of DC as their capital.

Unless and until the Saudis and other Arab countries accept that Israel is here to stay on its own terms, their peoples (including the Palestinians) will continue to languish in poverty and ignorance while Israel continues to amaze the world with its unrivaled economic growth and scientific innovation.

The true reasons and true aims of radical Islam - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i08L09V0_sg

ARAFAT depriving Palestinians of BILLIONS DOLLARS GIVEN BY USA, EUROPE AND ISRAEL, what did he do? He radicalized the Palestinians who did not see the fruits of peace. So that's reason number one why Palestinian society is radicalized.

Khaled Abu Toameh:"..Yasser Arafat established sixteen different security forces with the help of the Americans, the Europeans, and the Israelis. And they started pouring BILLIONS DOLLARS into this regime that they called the Palestinian Authority. Billions of dollars with the hope that Arafat would deliver.

Now, there's no need to elaborate. As you all know, Arafat turned out to be a crook. Most of the money that was sent to the Palestinian Authority literally went down the drain and supported the shopping sprees of Arafat's wife who was living in Paris. Instead of building us a hospital, Arafat built a casino in Jericho, as if the Palestinian revolution aspired for forty years to get us a casino. And he built that casino across the street from a refugee camp. So Palestinians did not see the fruits of peace.

My argument is as follows. The fact that Arafat was crooked didn't surprise us Palestinians. We were only surprised by the fact that the international community kept giving him money and refused to hold him accountable when he stole our money. Why didn't they invest something? They didn't want to believe it.

When I tried to alert my foreign colleagues in 1995, 1996, and 1997, to the fact that there was corruption in the Palestinian Authority, many of them asked me if I was on the payroll of the Jewish Lobby. I wanted to know where was this Jewish Lobby? If there was one maybe they would pay me.

I told them: ???This is what I am hearing. The writing is on the wall. Come and listen to what Palestinians are saying.??? And they told me they weren't interested in that story. They told me they wanted anti-Israel stories because it made their lives so much easier. They told me they didn't want to write anything bad about Palestinians, that Arafat was a man of peace and should be given a chance. I heard this from major American journalists, by the way. Leading American journalists. I don't want to give you their names right now, but I was really frustrated. And angry.

Listen. For all these years we've been attacking the military occupation. So why is it that when I tell you something that Arafat is doing, suddenly you don't want to report it and think it's Jewish propaganda? Most of these journalists did not even want to make any effort.

By depriving these people of money, what did Arafat do? He radicalized the Palestinians who did not see the fruits of peace. So that's reason number one why Palestinian society is radicalized.

Red herring, guys..
Khaled Abu Toameh:"..You gave Yasser Arafat money to open a TV and radio station. And on this TV and radio station Arafat said "Jihad, jihad, kill the crusaders, kill the Jews, kill the infidels, kill everyone but me." Now you may ask yourself why Arafat was inciting against his peace partners in Israel, why was he inciting against the Americans and Europeans who were feeding him? It doesn't make sense.

Well, to us it does make sense. This is how our Arab dictators survive. They constantly blame the miseries of our people on the Jews and the West and the Crusaders and the infidels and the Zionist lobby and the imperialists. They use all these slogans. Arab leaders always need to make sure that their people are busy hating somebody else, preferably the Jews and the Americans. Otherwise their people might rebel, and God forbid they might demand reforms and democracy.

This is exactly what Arafat did, but he did it in Arabic. The international community and even Israelis did not want to listen to what Arafat was saying in Arabic. They only cared what he said in English."
http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/02/a-minority-repo.php

Why has no one mentioned that Egypt has also sealed the border with Gaza?

Kudos for Newsweek for publishing a point of view from the Arab world. Before the start of the war, the situation in Gaza was a collective punishment on the population. Turning this densely populated area into a literal prison, with no access to even the very basic needs, can???t be justified or explained, and is simply a violation of international humanitarian law-- a point echoed by UN officials, and many humanitarian organizations now in the ground witnessing firsthand the magnitude of human loss and massive destruction. Israeli human rights groups are also calling into question the tactics used by the Israeli army, and are demanding explanation on the atrocities committed by their government in the name of their country. Most notably, the use of white phosphorous is extremely troubling, and a clear violation of international law, as its use is explicitly prohibited in civilian areas. Mr. Al Saeed correctly points out that there was a deafening silence in the Western response to the atrocities committed. The hopes of a two state solution were dashed with this last war, and what is currently needed is a proactive and extensive US engagement in the negotiations, and the appointment of Mr. Mitchell as envoy is a most definite positive step to bring an end to the conflict. Also needed is taking into account previous Arab Peace Initiatives to the picture.

What a joke. Who wrote this trash? The only peace plan available is the one written by the enemies of Israel? It is a joke to suggest that Israel is to accept a plan put forward by a country(s) that refuse to exchange diplomats, have meaningful discussions with [it] or to have even a basic peace plan with Israel itself. By the way, what would Israel get for all of these concessions to the Palestinians? Diplomatic relations with the Arab world. Yeah. Lets throw a party over this great deal. If this is the best deal on the table then I doubt any Israeli will be stopping by for dinner this century.

SO, a lot of what I see on the message boards is more of the same crap i have heard all of my life (I'm 25, it's literally ALL of my life). Oh they did X first, that's why we bombed. well, we wouldn't have done X if you hadn't done Y, so we had to retaliate and do X. Well Y was in response to your Z attack, we HAD to do something. etc, on and on, until we kill each other in a nuclear war that blows up the whole of the earth. Someone has to suck it up, say hey, we are sorry, shouldn't have done that. And the other party, instead of bombing again says, gee, well, there is a peace accord, the stupid idiot countries that were giving the opponent money have stopped (and fixed their own goddamn house before worrying about everyone else), we would hope would say, yes, we need to stop killing each other. we need to end the hate. we need to end the killing of innocent people. The walls and the crazy borders and prevention of getting food and medicine into Gaza needs to stop. TODAY. Want to stop people from rebuilding tunnels? give them food water, medicine, goods and other essentials. Don???t treat them like cattle. don't treat them like less than humans. going on 70 years ago, another group of people treated the Jews like cattle and less than humans. They were Nazis. they were tried for crimes against humanity for doing horrible HORRIBLE things to Jewish people. and then, to help this group of people after the war and after so many had died (because if a goddamn psycho and his ideals) they decided that the Jewish people could have some land. Land that wasn???t theirs no wonder Muslim people are mad. technically it's their homeland too. it's been talked about so many times that the split can be read in the bible (and possibly the Koran) where Islam and Christianity/Judaism split apart, but are all from the same people. if you believe so strongly in your bibles and your ancient texts, then they both have the same homeland.

Rules need to be set up. If you are Israeli and living in the now Muslim area, it's time to GTFO. Same goes for Muslims if they are living in a new Israeli area: GTFO. yes it sucks, & i would HATE to leave my house , but there could be some form of exchange program, where people are compensated for the land they now don't live at. but I know, it would never be that easy. we have Israeli's that live in areas of either Gaza or West Bank who refuse to leave their homeland. no, it's not your homeland. it wasn't your countries until the goddamn late 40's early 50's when Britain decide they knew best (which the obviously didn't).

The whole thing makes me sad. By the way, I am as white as it comes, and have Italian, German, & UK roots. Mussolini was horrible, Hitler was pure evil, the British were idiots to give away land that wasn't theirs to give. But the Israeli's are also not helping the situation by penning people into Gaza & the West Bank & not letting them leave without due cause.

Wow - a Saudi criticizing Israel ..how newsworthy.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. The Gazans then proceeded to elect the Hamas terrorist organization as their Government and fired over 8,000 rockets into Israel (..targetting exclusively civilians). What did they expect was going to happen?

Zionism is based upon a false premise and that is that God has reserved a chunk of the middle east for Jews only.