SHUNEH, Jordan, 21 May 2007 — Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres urged Arab governments yesterday to hold talks with the Jewish state on their revived Middle East peace plan.
The Nobel peace laureate told Arab officials at a World Economic Forum in Jordan that Israel would come up with a counter-offer to the Saudi-drafted blueprint first adopted in 2002 and relaunched at an Arab summit in March.
But he gave no firm timeframe for delivery of the counter-proposal, drawing questions from Arab League chief Amr Moussa about the Israeli government’s seriousness.
“The Arab League has proposed. Fine. We shall make a counter-proposal,” Peres said during a panel discussion on Arab-Israeli relations also addressed by Moussa.
“Let’s sit together, air out our differences. If you are serious and we are serious, let’s sit together.” The Arab peace plan offers Israel full normalization of relations in return for a full withdrawal from Arab lands occupied in 1967 and resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue.
Israel rejected the blueprint wholesale when it was first unveiled but has since warmed to the draft as a basis for negotiation, provided there are changes on the refugee issue.
“You must understand that you cannot send us a document and say — take it or leave it. It’s not done,” Peres said. He said Israel would draw up a counter-proposal “as soon as possible,” but despite repeated questions declined to be more specific.
The Arab League chief said that if the Israeli government was genuine in its expressed readiness to discuss the peace plan, “we are all in business.” But he dismissed as a mere “gimmick” repeated comments by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he is ready to meet Arab leaders to discuss the plan provided the talks are held without preconditions.
“Until now we have no answer coming from the Israeli side ... no plan, no policy, that we can interpret as a hand stretched out for peace,” said Moussa.
The World Economic Forum on the Middle East wraps up after highlighting the need for education to strengthen competitiveness and amid calls to support an Arab plan for peace with Israel.
United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum announced a $10-billion education fund to bridge what he called a wide knowledge gap between the region and the developed world in the West and Asia. “Our only choice is to bridge this gap as quickly as possible, because our age is defined by knowledge,” he said.
Jordan’s King Abdallah also urged delegates to think of the future. “These young men and women deserve to be part of a prospering region that is playing its rightful role on the world stage,” he told the forum on Friday. Of 325 million people living in the Arab world, more than 200 million are under 24, the king said.
Appeals to invest in people were also echoed by other participants, with one panelist pointing out that only 298 patents have been issued in the Middle East and North Africa.
“The United States issues nearly 500 patents per day,” said Arif Naqvi, a leading UAE businessman. “The region can only close this tremendous innovation gap through education.”
On the political front, an Arab plan for peace with Israel received further backing, with King Abdallah calling it an “historic opportunity to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement.”
“It is in the interest of this entire region — and indeed, the world — that we succeed,” he said, referring to the Saudi initiative revived at an Arab summit in March.
