The
Saudi Plan
"In 35 years of studying the Middle East, I have rarely seen anything to rival the Saudi "peace plan" for cynicism (of those pushing the plan) and gullibility (of those buying it). If it were not so tragic it would be comic. (Charles Krauthammer)
News and commentary on the Saudi peace plan.
May 2002
"Mubarak, Saudi crown prince end talks to coordinate positions" (Daniel Soberman, Haaretz, 2002/05/13)
March 2002
"They rise up..." (John Podhoretz, New York Post, 2002/03/28)
"Arab summit adopts Saudi peace initiative" (CNN.com, 2002/03/28)
"Discord overshadows Arab summit" (BBC News, 2002/03/27)
"Saudi Leader Proposes 'Land for Peace' Deal" (AP/The New York Times, 2002/03/27)
"Talks Are Intense as Arab Leaders Prepare to Meet" (Neil MacFarquhar, The New York Times, 2002/03/26)
"Saudi proposal considers 'Arab-Israeli conflict over'" (Amira Hass, The Jerusalem Post, 2002/03/26)
"The Phases of Arafat" (Michael Kelly, The Washington Post, 2002/03/13)
"Say That Again?" (Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, 2002/03/13)
"Redrawing the Map - It's pointless to talk "peace" when Arabs seek to destroy Israel" (The Wall Street Journal, 2002/03/09)
"The Israeli army must learn new tactics - or lose the war" (John Keegan, The Daily Telegraph, 2002/03/07)
"Saudi Peace Sham" (Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, 2002/03/06)
"A Saudi Peace Idea, Suddenly in the Spotlight" (Serge Schmemann, The New York Times, 2002/03/03)
"Saudi Arabia - Arab Reactions to Saudi Peace Initiative - Part I" (Inquiry and Analysis No. 86, MEMRI, 2002/03/01)
February 2002
"Israeli president seeks Saudi talks" (BBC News, 2002/02/25)
"An Intriguing Signal From the Saudi Crown Prince" (Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, 2002/02/17)
"Mubarak, Saudi crown prince end talks to coordinate positions" (Daniel Soberman, Haaretz, 2002/05/13)
"[Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince] Abdullah, speaking to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, added that Israel would have to be open to discussion on the rights of return for Palestinian refugees. The prince, who held talks with Bush on the Middle East crisis last month, said that Arabs would not accept a partial Israeli pullout and Israel had to return all Arab land. "A withdrawal is not enough, there must be a return to the pre-1967 aggression lines and an end to the occupation of Jerusalem so that it becomes the capital of Palestine," said Prince Abdullah, the architect of a Middle East peace initiative that won Arab and international backing. "The return of refugees is also a must," he told the London-based paper.""They rise up..." (John Podhoretz, New York Post, 2002/03/28)
"The "details" of the plan were finally announced yesterday. Israel must give up all lands won in the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem. ... In Arabic, Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia referred to "al-Quds al-Sharif." Al-Quds al-Sharif means "Jerusalem," period. Thus, it may well be that the Saudis are telling the Arab world their peace plan requires Israel to withdraw from West, North and South Jerusalem as well, all of which have been part of Israel since 1947. Oh, and that's not all. Israel must also guarantee Arab refugees the "right of return." That means Arabs and descendants of Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 would be restored and made whole. Not only will that never, ever, ever, ever happen - as it would mean the destruction of the Jewishness of the Jewish state - but it fails to mention any kind of "right of return" for the 3 million Jews kicked out of Arab and Muslim lands between 1948 and 1967. Gee, that's fair. But yes, if Israel does all these things, then Arab countries will establish "normal relations" with it - whatever that means. This is the pernicious "fantasy" of peace foisted upon Thomas Friedman of The New York Times by Prince Abdullah - a fantasy that has clouded the vision of the Bush administration.""Arab summit adopts Saudi peace initiative" (CNN.com, 2002/03/28)
"The Arab League adopted Thursday the first "pan-Arab initiative" for peace in the Middle East, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa announced. The plan, offered by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, was adopted in a closed session following hours of wrangling over its final language. The plan, in its broadest terms, offers Israel security and "normal relations" in exchange for a withdrawal from occupied Arab territories, creation of an independent Palestinian state with al-Quds al-Shareef (East Jerusalem) as its capital, and the 'return of refugees.'" (See also: "Text: The Arab Peace Initiative" (The New York Times, 2002/03/28))"Discord overshadows Arab summit" (BBC News, 2002/03/27)
"Major disagreements have erupted among delegates at the Arab summit in Beirut, threatening the endorsement of a Saudi Arabian peace initiative for the Middle East. ... Although there appeared to be general backing for the plan, disagreements erupted over Lebanon's blocking of a speech that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was due to deliver via a satellite link from the West Bank. The Palestinian delegation at the summit walked out in protest, while the United Arab Emirates announced it was reducing the level of its delegation in solidarity with the Palestinians. ... Mr Arafat decided not to attend the summit after Israel refused to drop its conditions for lifting a travel ban that has confined him to the West Bank since December. ... Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told reporters in Cairo that he had made a sudden decision to stay away to show solidarity with Mr Arafat. ... Jordan's King Abdullah II decided not to attend the summit at the last minute without giving a reason.""Saudi Leader Proposes 'Land for Peace' Deal" (AP/The New York Times, 2002/03/27)
"Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah proposed on Wednesday that the Arab League offer Israel "normal relations'' in exchange for recognition of a Palestinian state and of refugees' right to return. Speaking at an Arab League summit, Abdullah said, "having a real peace is the only way to normalize relationships between all the peoples and the only thing that could replace all the destruction.'' ... Abdullah stuck by an earlier offer of normalization to Israel, though hard-line Arabs have protested it is too soon to offer Israel so much. But he added the call to recognize the right of Palestinian refugees to return, a move that could cool Israel to the overture. Israeli leaders have said the return of millions of Palestinians displaced in Mideast wars would undermine the Jewish nature of their state.""Talks Are Intense as Arab Leaders Prepare to Meet" (Neil MacFarquhar, The New York Times, 2002/03/26)
"By late tonight, the word "normalization," which Syria abhors, had been rejected as the term used to describe future relations with Israel in the peace initiative, according to officials involved. Lebanon was pushing to include a reference to the fact that any peace would involve all Palestinian refugees leaving the countries that host them, they said.""Saudi proposal considers 'Arab-Israeli conflict over'" (Amira Hass, The Jerusalem Post, 2002/03/26)
"Following is the text of the latest draft of the Saudi peace proposal, to be voted on tomorrow at the Arab League summit in Beirut, Lebanon: ... The Arab summit calls for: Complete withdrawal from the Arab lands occupied in 1967, including a full withdrawal from the Syrian Golan and from all the lands that are still occupied in south Lebanon, to the borders of June 4th, 1967. Acceptance to reach a fair solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees that will be agreed upon in accordance with UN Resolution 194. Acceptance of an independent sovereign Palestinian state on the Palestinian lands occupied since June 4, 1967, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with holy Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1379. In return, the Arab countries assert the following: To consider the Arab-Israeli conflict over and to reach a treaty to cement this between them [the Arab countries] and Israel.""The Phases of Arafat" (Michael Kelly, The Washington Post, 2002/03/13)
"The so-called Saudi plan currently on the table is a cynical and moth-eaten fraud put forth by a cynical and moth-eaten regime. In its ultimate proposals - the abandonment of Jerusalem, the return of all Palestinian refugees - it is purposely unworkable. Israel should nevertheless grasp it (or something equally unrealistic) as the basis for a new round of negotiations. This won't produce peace. But Israel can learn from Arafat's strategy; the great thing now is to take the long view - and meanwhile move the war to the next phase.""Say That Again?" (Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, 2002/03/13)
"If Abdullah lets his message get watered down, it will signal not only that the Palestinians can't make real peace with Israel, but that the Arabs can't either. Therefore, no real acceptance of a Jewish state in the Middle East is possible — even if Israel fulfills all Arab requirements. For the Arab world, that would mean that bin Laden and Syria are in the driver's seat and that the Arab past will continue to bury the Arab future. That's why the real question before this Arab summit is: Can the Arabs answer bin Laden by positing a different vision? Can the Arab-Muslim world show a willingness to live with pluralism — with a Jewish state in fair boundaries? Or must the area be free of all "infidels"? An Arab League that can't live with a pluralism of people can't live with a pluralism of ideas. If it can't live with a pluralism of ideas, it will never develop and will remain, at some level, alienated from the West and Israel.""Redrawing the Map - It's pointless to talk "peace" when Arabs seek to destroy Israel" (The Wall Street Journal, 2002/03/09)
"Would Winston Churchill have sat down for negotiations with an enemy whose ultimate goal was to drive the British into the North Sea? That essentially is what is being asked of Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by those who claim that the alternative to today's escalation of violence is a "peace" plan, say along the lines of the one being promoted by Saudi Arabia. ... But the real problem with the Saudi plan is that it will not resolve the niggling fact that denying Israel's right to exist is still de facto Palestinian Authority, indeed pan-Arab, policy. ... Israel has no choice but to wage this kind of war until its enemies give up the idea of destroying Israel. A real conclusion to the violence in the Middle East requires Mr. Arafat and his followers to change the map inside their heads. Until they do, Jews and Palestinians alike will continue to suffer, and no new "peace plan" will make any difference.""The Israeli army must learn new tactics - or lose the war" (John Keegan, The Daily Telegraph, 2002/03/07)
"Yasser Arafat would say that, if Israel withdrew from the occupied territories, the violence would cease. Israelis have good reason to doubt that. They would have given up much, without winning Arab recognition of Israel's right to exist. Practical people, of whom Creveld is one, would propose something different. First, a reduction of the IDF's responsibilities, by withdrawal from the most exposed settlements in Palestinian territory; there is absolutely no reason, Zionist politics apart, for it to have to defend a Jewish presence in Nablus, an entirely Arab city. ... Third, a measure of separation is probably inevitable, if suicide bombing is to be controlled. That would entail a disruption of the economic life of Israelis and Arabs but is preferable to a descent into a Hobbesian horror of the war of all against all.""Saudi Peace Sham" (Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, 2002/03/06)
"In 35 years of studying the Middle East, I have rarely seen anything to rival the Saudi "peace plan" for cynicism (of those pushing the plan) and gullibility (of those buying it). If it were not so tragic it would be comic. Israeli civilians are being blown up almost daily in restaurants, at bus stops, at prayer. Retaliatory attacks are launched by the hour. A new "peace plan" is then floated whose essence is this: When peace is achieved between the two parties killing each other on the ground, the Saudis will give it their blessing and make peace too.""A Saudi Peace Idea, Suddenly in the Spotlight" (Serge Schmemann, The New York Times, 2002/03/03)
"After rapidly gaining momentum through the Middle East and Europe since its soft launching two weeks ago, the Saudi Arabian peace idea will descend on Washington when the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, comes calling on Tuesday. At week's end, Vice President Dick Cheney will be heading for the Middle East, where, whatever his original agenda may have been, he is certain to be badgered relentlessly for some sign of American interest in the initiative, which comes during some of the worst violence to engulf the region in years.""Saudi Arabia - Arab Reactions to Saudi Peace Initiative - Part I" (Inquiry and Analysis No. 86, MEMRI, 2002/03/01)
"Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan, editor-in-chief of the London Arabic-language daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, was critical of the Saudi willingness to "break all the taboos" and normalize relations with "the Hebrew state." ... In another article, 'Atwan wrote that he wasn't certain that Prince Abdullah was aware of what full normalization meant: 'Has it occurred to him that normalization in tourism with the Hebrew state, to which he agreed, means that groups of Israelis will come to Al-Madina to conduct excavations in search of traces of their forefathers, and to hold religious festivals on their holidays in memory of the Bani Qurayza, Bani Qaynuq'a [Jewish tribes in the Arabian peninsula whom the Prophet Muhammad fought in the seventh century], just as they are doing at Djerba in Tunisia and at Abuhatzeira's tomb in Egypt?'""Israeli president seeks Saudi talks" (BBC News, 2002/02/25)
"The Israeli President, Moshe Katsav, has said he is willing to travel to Saudi Arabia to discuss a new peace plan put forward by Crown Prince Abdullah. Alternatively, a statement by Mr Katsav's office said, the crown prince could come to Jerusalem for talks with the Israeli Government. Under the plan, Arab states would normalise relations with Israel in return for Israel's full withdrawal from the Arab land it has occupied since 1967.""An Intriguing Signal From the Saudi Crown Prince" (Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, 2002/02/17)
"After I laid out this idea, the crown prince [Abdullah] looked at me with mock astonishment and said, "Have you broken into my desk?" "No," I said, wondering what he was talking about. "The reason I ask is that this is exactly the idea I had in mind — full withdrawal from all the occupied territories, in accord with U.N. resolutions, including in Jerusalem, for full normalization of relations," he said. 'I have drafted a speech along those lines. My thinking was to deliver it before the Arab summit and try to mobilize the entire Arab world behind it. The speech is written, and it is in my desk. But I changed my mind about delivering it when Sharon took the violence, and the oppression, to an unprecedented level.'"
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