Israel tries to dodge peace again
The Arab Summit in Riyadh is currently underway, the Israelis snub Condoleeza Rice ….
Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem, Israel resists Rice plan for talks on peace settlement, Independent (27 March 2007)
Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, postponed a press conference yesterday amid signs of Israeli resistance to her plan for parallel talks on the possible shape of a future settlement of the Middle East conflict. Ms Rice has proposed holding separate talks with the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, designed to promote “a political horizon” which could define what lay at the end of any putative peace process.
… Israeli concerns also cast doubt on the other key initiative under way in the region, the intention of Arab states in Saudi Arabia this week to relaunch the 2002 Beirut declaration, which promised pan-Arab recognition of Israel in return for Israel withdrawing to its 1967 borders.
Israel and particularly its Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has identified the declaration’s commitment to “a right of return” of the families of Palestinian refugees who fled their homes in 1948 as a key obstacle to any progress based on the initiative, and has urged the Arab leaders to change the relevant clause.
Wafa Amr in Riyadh, Arab leaders to relaunch peace offer to Israel, Reuters (28 March 2007)
Arab leaders will formally relaunch a five-year-old initiative on Thursday to trade peace for land and end the Arab-Israeli conflict which is at the heart of the region’s problems.
A summit, which began on Wednesday, has drawn several world and Muslim leaders who backed the Arab peace plan offering Israel normal ties with all Arab countries in return for its withdrawal from land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
“The Arab peace initiative is one of the pillars for the peace process … This initiative sends a signal that the Arabs are serious about achieving peace,” U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon told Arab leaders on Wednesday, according to an Arabic translation.
Palestinian ambassador Jamal Shobaki said the leaders had agreed on Wednesday to endorse a set of resolutions influenced by the plan, which also calls for the creation of a Palestinian state and a “just solution” for Palestinians displaced in 1948.
… Israel has objected to key elements in the plan, including the proposed return to 1967 borders, the inclusion of Arab East Jerusalem in a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees to homes in what is now Israel.
… A final draft resolution calls for a “just solution” to the problem of Palestinian refugees who fled their homes in 1948 but avoids any mention of the phrase “right of return.”
… Riyadh, pressed by its ally Washington to show more leadership in the region, has called on Sunni Muslim states to overcome divisions, arguing a united front will help persuade Israel to address Palestinian grievances.Saudi King Abdullah called at the start of the summit on Wednesday for an end to the international blockade on the Palestinian government.
“It has become necessary to end the unjust blockade imposed on the Palestinian people as soon as possible so that the peace process can move in an atmosphere far from oppression and force,” King Abdullah said.
Videos: Israeli occupation forces attacking Palestinian civilians, IMEMC, 24 March 2007 and ICH 27 March 2007
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