JERUSALEM: Israeli leaders are giving serious consideration to a dormant Saudi plan offering a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab world, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday.
Barak said that with individual negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians making little headway, it may be time to pursue an overall peace deal for the region. He said he has discussed the Saudi peace initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah with Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni, who is in the process of forming a new Israeli government, and that Israel is considering a response.
King Abdullah made the proposal at the Beirut summit of Arab leaders in 2002, offering pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from Arab lands captured in 1967 — the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The 22-member Arab League relaunched the plan last year in Riyadh.
Israel has said the plan is a good basis for discussion, but expressed some reservations.
“Therefore, there is definitely room to introduce a comprehensive Israeli plan to counter the Saudi plan that would be the basis for a discussion on overall regional peace,” Barak told Israel’s Army Radio. While Israel’s outgoing prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has welcomed the Saudi plan, he and other leaders want to keep some parts of the territories captured in 1967.
Israeli President Shimon Peres proposed merging Israel’s various peace talks into one track last month at the United Nations. In a speech to the General Assembly, he called on King Abdullah to “further his initiative.” He has since been pushing the idea in meeting with Israeli, Arab and Western officials, Peres’ office said. In yesterday’s interview, Barak said he was in full agreement with Peres, and had discussed the peace plan with Livni. “I had the impression that there is indeed an openness to explore any path,” he said.
