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.
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Revive The Saudi Peace Plan
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With luck, therefore, this bloody episode of Israeli-Palestinian conflict will galvanize the world to seek a permanent and lasting solution. The path forward should include the following elements:
First, Israel must immediately lift its siege of Gaza and declare a plan to fully compensate its victims there. This should be coupled with a clear apology and a commitment to never again resort to such disproportionate methods.
Second, Israel needs to declare unconditional acceptance of the Arab peace plan as the framework for meaningful negotiations.
Third, the world community must reconvene the Madrid conference as the proper forum for the mediation and arbitration of a comprehensive settlement. The conference should eventually convene to ratify elements of the solution and to authorize the resources needed for implementation. Prescriptions for peace are plentiful, but the will to pursue them is in short supply. For its part, the Arab League has already demonstrated its willingness to walk the path of peace.
Finally, it is vital that President Obama take on an active role in negotiations. The appointment of George Mitchell was a welcome move, but it won't be enough. Breakthroughs on Middle East peace come only when a U.S. president intervenes extensively.
Now that the guns have fallen silent, we need to recognize that this crisis is different from those that have gone before, and its consequences could be catastrophic not only for the parties directly involved but for the world at large. The benefits of peace, however, would be shared just as widely. So closure is not simply a choice; it is an imperative. The clock is ticking, and history will not wait much longer.
Al-Saeed is a Saudi academic whose writing has appeared in a number of Arabic newspapers.
© 2009
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