Arab Peace Plan Advertised in Israeli Newspapers
A Saudi-backed Arab peace plan originally introduced in 2002 has been advertised in several prominent Israeli newspapers by the Palestinian Authority in an attempt to stimulate stagnated Israeli-Palestinian talks. The seven-point initiative has received a measure of well-intentioned praise from Israeli government officials, who also express a desire to build consensus around a two-state solution–a proposal which has seen markedly little progress in recent years despite domestic efforts and widespread international support.
Endorsed by the Arab League, the plan calls for fifty-seven Arab and Muslim countries’ recognition of Israel’s sovereign status as a nation, with whom they intend to establish diplomatic relations in exchange for an end to Israel’s occupation of land captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The aim of publishing the full text of the Arab peace plan in Israeli media is described by Palestinian official, Yasser Abed Rabbo, as explaining the initiative to the Israeli public, whom he suggested were “…unfamiliar with the details of the plan and have only heard partial and distorted versions from Israeli officials.” Though the plan is regarded as moderately acceptable by a majority of the Israeli public, prohibitively strong disagreement persists surrounding two of the seven points in particular: 1) Making East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state; and 2) Israel’s responsibility for the welfare of Palestinian refugees displaced by Israel’s birth in 1948.
Paul Shapiro
