25.1.04
Report: new Arab proposal for general Mideast settlement
This is very interesting: Saudi Arabia has reportedly retooled its 2002 proposal for a general political settlement for the entire Middle East:
(NOTE: Minor editing from original post)
This is very interesting: Saudi Arabia has reportedly retooled its 2002 proposal for a general political settlement for the entire Middle East:
According to a new peace initiative being prepared by Arab states, Israel will negotiate a peace agreement with all the Arab states, and not just with the Palestinians, and Arab states would absorb Palestinian refugees.It will be interesting to see what the reaction to this plan - assuming it is officially released and endorsed - will be.
The Kuwaiti newspaper Al Siyasa reported Saturday that the initiative, led by Saudi Arabia, would include "declarations of peace agreements between all Arab states," which will bring an end to the conflict between Israel and the Arabs. The states would declare a normalization in their ties with Israel, including the appointment of ambassadors.
The Arab states will demand that Israel withdraw to its borders prior to the June 1967 war, in other words, to leave the Palestinian territories and withdraw from the Golan Heights.
The initiative also includes a "creative solution" for the problem of Palestinian refugees, which is one of the most serious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to the plan, some two million Palestinian refugees would be allowed to return to the new Palestinian state that would be established. More than two million others would be absorbed by other Arab states, and will be compensated for the suffering they had endured.
The Arab countries would open their gates to the refugees on the condition that their number won't exceed 10 percent of the existing population.
Under the deal, Iraq will also accept Palestinian refugees. Israel will not be required to absorb any Palestinian refugees.
(NOTE: Minor editing from original post)
