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Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. (AP)
Last update - 11:26 23/02/2008
Arab states threaten to rescind 2002 Saudi peace initiative
By The Associated Press
Tags: Saudi peace initiative 

CAIRO, Egypt - Arab officials are warning they could withdraw their landmark offer of peace and full ties with Israel in exchange for a return of Arab lands, unless Israel explicitly accepts the initiative.

The warnings reflect increasing Arab impatience with the long-stalled peace process with Israel. Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have bogged down since they were relaunched at the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis peace conference last November after a seven-year hiatus.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal - whose country sponsored the Arab peace initiative, adopted by Arab nations in 2002 - warned Thursday that despair would force us to review these options, including withdrawing the proposal.
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He accused Israel of sabotaging the initiative, which is now facing grave danger.

The Arab plan offers Israel full recognition by the Arabs and peace, in return for complete withdrawal from the lands Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War, as well as the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. It also calls for Palestinian refugees' right of return to their homes in Israel to be addressed.

Israel initially rejected the plan. Last year, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised the plan as showing a positive approach and said it would be taken into account in the peace process. But he stopped short of accepting it and rejected its call on refugees. Israel has also rejected the full withdrawal called for in the plan, hoping to hang on to several settlement blocs in the West Bank and to keep much of east Jerusalem, with its holy sites.

Arab leaders are planning to hold a summit in March in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at which they are expected to reiterate their adherence to the peace plan. But ahead of the gathering, they have stepped up their warnings it could be rescinded.

The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, said the Arabs extended the hand of peace to Israel with the peace proposal but now face unprecedented Israeli obstinacy.

"The key to solving the Arab-Israeli issue is to hold serious negotiations, not fictitious ones," he said.

Moussa's deputy at the League, Mohammed Sobeih, accused Israel of putting the sole political initiative on the table at risk. "If Israel makes it fail, they [Arabs] have to search for other options," Sobeih told reporters on Friday.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been marred by ongoing Israeli construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas the Palestinians want for their future state, as well as by the near-daily rocket barrages into Israel from the militant Hamas rulers of Gaza and Israel's blockade of the coastal strip.

The struggling talks have thrown into doubt hopes expressed by all sides at Annapolis that a final settlement could be reached by December 2008.

Arab countries, including Syria, participated in the Annapolis gathering, hoping that it meant a strong U.S. commitment to push forward negotiations -and American pressure on Israel to make concessions. In recent weeks, several Arab leaders have expressed frustration with the talks.

Saud, whose country is a close U.S. ally, blamed Israel during a gathering of South American-Arab foreign ministers in Argentina on Thursday.

"It's unbelievable that we keep blaming the weak party in the equation, which is the Palestinian people, with all the suffering they live under, while ignoring what Israel does by expanding settlements, tightening the siege, humiliating the Palestinians and carrying out a mass punishment against them," al-Faisal said.

Egypt in particular fears a failure of the Palestinian-Israeli talks, worried this may boost the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and could eventually saddle Egypt with the responsibility for the Mediterranean area.

Egypt faced a tough test last month when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, blockaded in Gaza, streamed into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula after Hamas blew holes in the border wall.

The breach ended Israel's tight blockade of the coastal strip, imposed a week earlier in response to a spike in rocket attacks on Israeli border towns. Egyptian troops resealed the border 12 days later.

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  • PM: I'm ready to negotiate Saudi peace plan with Arab leaders
  • Arab League chief: We will not change Saudi peace initiative
  • Sources: Arab states may offer to repackage Saudi peace plan
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      1.   who cares? 01:42  |  vik 23/02/08
      2.   End Arab BS and make peace with Israel, no more lies 02:04  |  David 23/02/08
      3.   Arab Arrogance 02:11  |  Robert 23/02/08
      4.   Land for Peace, Pure Fantasy, 02:28  |  Stephen. 23/02/08
      5.   israel is playing with fire! it worked partially for 60 years,but 02:28  |  lakshmi 23/02/08
      6.   land for peace; Barbary Pirates? 02:29  |  r 23/02/08
      7.   If you in Israel then I take what you say more seriously 02:48  |  pal 23/02/08
      8.   THE ARABS ARE COMING 02:55  |  VIPER 23/02/08
      9.   talk about freiers 03:00  |  peter 23/02/08
      10.   SAUDI "PEACE" PLAN IS NONE OTHER THAN A DECLARATION OF WAR 03:13  |  G.Marcus 23/02/08
      11.   ENTIRE CONFLICT EXPLAINED IN LESS THAN 20 LINES 03:16  |  G.Marcus 23/02/08
      12.   Lakshmi You Rotter _ Respond To These Charges By Amitabh 03:26  |  Eli 23/02/08
      13.   #3 Robert puts up his straw men 03:29  |  Johnboy 23/02/08
      14.   Stephen_I Completely Agree With You On Every Detail Of Your Post 03:30  |  Eli 23/02/08
      15.   #7 03:51  |  Moshe 23/02/08
      16.   Rescind what? 04:01  |  Fish 23/02/08
      17.   #8 vapid viper 04:04  |  Moshe 23/02/08
      18.   #5 Lakshmi Don`t threaten us, not scared 04:20  |  Boris 23/02/08
      19.   20 BILLION IN US WEAPONS TO SAUDI ARABIA 04:22  |  Bruce 23/02/08
      20.   # 12 Eli 04:29  |  Bobby 23/02/08
      21.   videogameboy keeps playing 04:44  |  peter 23/02/08
      22.   to all arabs 04:47  |  danny 23/02/08
      23.   More Arab BS 04:56  |  Frank 23/02/08
      24.   The guy number 3 in Montreal 05:11  |  Dominique 23/02/08
      25.   stephen numero quattro 05:17  |  paulo 23/02/08
      26.   To Moshe #15 War was brought on us 05:24  |  pal 23/02/08
      27.   Let Egypt and Jordan give some land to Pals 05:48  |  Charles 23/02/08
      28.   Iran is on the Rise 05:51  |  Mary 23/02/08
      29.   Arab Offer: Two Palestines 06:11  |  B (The other one) 23/02/08
      30.   #21 Oh, I hear someone stuck in their groove, peter.... 06:16  |  Johnboy 23/02/08
      31.   IT`S THE BEST THAT YOU CAN DO 06:33  |  BOB KING THE ZIONIST 23/02/08
      32.   Thank you, Marcus, #10 & #11 06:37  |  Blogowitz 23/02/08
      33.   #13 Johnboy 06:43  |  Robert 23/02/08
      34.   danny in australia 07:10  |  Pax Americana 23/02/08
      35.   promises are piecrust lets see performance 07:29  |  v hardman 23/02/08
      36.   Danny :Its strictly business 07:30  |  pal 23/02/08
      37.   Simply Turn off the Oil, like they did in the `70s 07:32  |  lydia 23/02/08
      38.   No Peace for Anyone Period. 07:45  |  Efox 23/02/08
      39.   Oh Whip Me With A Wet Noodle! 07:47  |  Yosemite 23/02/08
      40.   Recind the lousy offer immediately! 07:54  |  Stellar 23/02/08
      41.   Arab leadrs threaten to withdraw 2002 land-forpeace offer 08:00  |  martin list, m.d. 23/02/08
      42.   Israel`s Own Worst Enemy 08:07  |  Paulo 23/02/08
      43.   Peace doesn`t seem to be an end goal for Arab regimes 08:16  |  Gina 23/02/08
      44.   Thanks Bob the Zionist. 08:23  |  Palestinian Brit 23/02/08
      45.   The PLO and the Arab States 08:25  |  Jean Van Daem 23/02/08
      46.   #9 peter of montreal: freiren? Bist meshugeh? 08:26  |  hala 23/02/08
      47.   #15 Moishe and "warmongering" in 1920 08:35  |  hala 23/02/08
      48.   piz plan 08:37  |  Omar 23/02/08
      49.   #5 Stephen, you are 100% correct 08:38  |  hala 23/02/08
      50.   Palestine 08:45  |  Gregor 23/02/08
      51.   # 1 EXACTLY ! THE arubs WILL NEVER GIVE PEACE TO ANY ONE 08:54  |  MOSHE 23/02/08
      52.   # 46 IS SICK PUPPY 08:57  |  MOSHE 23/02/08
      53.   Palestinians 09:13  |  Gregor 23/02/08
      54.   Too late for two states 09:22  |  Ben 23/02/08
      55.   Saudi Proposal Got Nowhere Because 09:31  |  MB 23/02/08
      56.   #52 Ouch, the truth pricks the eyes, n`est-ce pas? 09:53  |  hala 23/02/08
      57.   what a hypocrisy - isnt it saudi-arabia who supports hamas... 09:57  |  scallywag 23/02/08
      58.   Remember Robert #3, You`re sitting on Arab Lands 10:14  |  Markus 23/02/08
      59.   #33 I`ll try and explain this to you, Robert 10:16  |  Johnboy 23/02/08
      60.   #33 I`m certainly seeing a touch of arrogance, Robert. 10:39  |  Johnboy 23/02/08
      61.   #33 Perhaps you`d better try to explain, Robert 11:07  |  Johnboy 23/02/08
      62.   At last ,a positive development 11:19  |  trumpeldor 23/02/08
      63.   #60 johnboy and the usual utter confusion 11:36  |  v hardman 23/02/08
      64.   Ha Ha Ha! 11:56  |  Atoo 23/02/08
      65.   # 1 vik 12:02  |  Axel 23/02/08
      66.   What are the chances of peace? 12:36  |  Jean Van Daem 23/02/08
      67.   No 2-state solution...give all Palis Israeli citizenship 12:43  |  Jason G 23/02/08
      68.   #60 Johnboy, first lets examine others 12:46  |  Doc Holliday 23/02/08
      69.   Moshe - another idiot 12:48  |  Philip 23/02/08
      70.   G. Marcus - your description is worthy of a C- in 5th grade 12:50  |  Philip