Arab Peace Initiative

The Arab Peace Initiative was floated by acting Saudi regent Crown Prince Abdullah as a potential solution to both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Arab-Israeli conflict. It was published on March 28, 2002, during a summit meeting of the Arab League in Beirut, Lebanon.

The document, considered a progressive proposal, calls for the state of Israel to withdraw all forces from the Occupied Territories and to recognize the Palestinian Authority as a sovereign nation with its capital in East Jerusalem. In exchange Abdullah suggested that Arab states would recognize the state of Israel, consider the Arab-Israeli conflict over and establish "normal relations" with Israel.

Contents

1 Guiding principles 2 The plan's goals and targets for addressing the issues 3 Implementation steps 4 Funding 5 Current status of the initiative 6 What is left out by the initiative 7 Document text 8 Arab-Israeli peace diplomacy and treaties

Guiding principles

The initiative is based upon:

• The principle of land for peace
• The conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties

The plan's goals and targets for addressing the issues

The goals of the initiative are:

• Full Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab territories occupied since June 1967
• Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338
• The establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital
• A just solution to the Palestinian Refugee problem, to be agreed upon in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 (section 11). The fourteen other sections of the resolution are not referenced by this initiative.
• The normalization of relations in the context of a comprehensive peace

Implementation steps

The initiative calls for the establishment of a special committee composed of a portion of the Arab League's concerned member states and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to pursue the necessary contacts to gain support for the initiative at all levels, particularly from the United Nations, the Security Council, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the Muslim states and the European Union.

Further detail on the implementation of the initiative is not specified.

Funding

(To be added)

Current status of the initiative

The initiative does not appear to have gained momentum since its publication. However, as of January 30, 2004, it appeared that the Saudis were preparing a supplementary initiative in preparation for the next Arab League summit meeting. The Kuwaiti newspaper, as-Siyasa, has reported that the supplementary initiative would call for the resettlement of up to 2 million refugees in Arab countries and the rest in a Palestinian state.[1] (http://www.forward.com/issues/2004/04.01.30/news3.html) [2] (http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/386411.html)

What is left out by the initiative

The initiative does not address the following matters:

• The nature of the envisioned Palestinian state
• The level of militarization of the Palestinian state
• The use of water resources
• Access to Jerusalem and its holy sites
• Access to other holy sites within the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine
• Access between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
• The dismantling of non-governmental armed groups within the West Bank and Gaza Strip
• Border controls between Israel and the Palestinian state
• The fate of Palestinian prisoners

Document text

Following is the complete text of Abdullah's Arab Peace Initiative:

The Council of Arab States at the Summit Level at its 14th Ordinary Session, reaffirming the resolution taken in June 1996 at the Cairo Extra-Ordinary Arab Summit that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East is the strategic option of the Arab countries, to be achieved in accordance with international legality, and which would require a comparable commitment on the part of the Israeli government.

Having listened to the statement made by his royal highness Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, crown prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in which his highness presented his initiative calling for full Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab territories occupied since June 1967, in implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, reaffirmed by the Madrid Conference of 1991 and the land-for-peace principle, and Israel's acceptance of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in return for the establishment of normal relations in the context of a comprehensive peace with Israel.

Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the council:

1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.

2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:

I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.

II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:

I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region

II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

4. Assures the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries

5. Calls upon the government of Israel and all Israelis to accept this initiative in order to safeguard the prospects for peace and stop the further shedding of blood, enabling the Arab countries and Israel to live in peace and good neighbourliness and provide future generations with security, stability and prosperity

6. Invites the international community and all countries and organisations to support this initiative.

7. Requests the chairman of the summit to form a special committee composed of some of its concerned member states and the secretary general of the League of Arab States to pursue the necessary contacts to gain support for this initiative at all levels, particularly from the United Nations, the Security Council, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the Muslim states and the European Union.

Arab-Israeli peace diplomacy and treaties

• Paris Peace Conference, 1919
• Faisal-Weizmann Agreement (1919)
• 1949 Armistice Agreements
• Camp David Accords (1978)
• Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty (1979)
• Madrid Conference of 1991
• Oslo Accords (1993)
• Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace (1994)
• Camp David 2000 Summit
• Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs
• List of Middle East peace proposals
• International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict