BEIRUT, 29 March — The ball is squarely in Israel’s court following the two-day Arab summit here, at the end of which Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal urged the Israelis to “gamble on peace” and respond in kind to the new Saudi-initiated Arab peace plan.
“In 50 years, they’ve gambled on force, on intimidation, on war, on violence. Let them now gamble on peace once and trust,” the prince said, addressing a press conference at the conclusion of the summit.
Prince Saud called for an immediate withdrawal of Israel from occupied territories. “It cannot hold on to the occupied land and demand security at the same time. It has to withdraw immediately,” he stated.
The summit conference yesterday unanimously adopted the Saudi-inspired plan, offering Israel normal ties and full peace in exchange for complete withdrawal from occupied Arab land.
A Beirut Declaration, read by Lebanon’s Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh near the close of the two-day meeting, embraced the plan proposed by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard.
The summit demanded the lifting of UN sanctions on Iraq imposed for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait and rejected any attack on Iraq.
“We stress our total rejection of any attack on Iraq,” it said.
Delegates said the summit also approved an agreement between Gulf War foes Iraq and Kuwait that could pave the way for a rapprochement for the first time since the 1990-91 Gulf crisis.
The agreement and the first high-level public embrace between Crown Prince Abdullah and Iraq’s Vice President Izzat Ibrahim at the summit came amid widespread speculation about a possible US attack on Iraq. The heads of the Iraqi and Kuwaiti delegations also shook hands.
The declaration said Israel must also accept a Palestinian state and agree to a “just solution” to the Palestinian refugee problem in line with a 1948 UN resolution that calls for them to be repatriated or compensated.
In return the Arab countries would “consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended and enter into a peace agreement with Israel (and) establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said: “The Saudi initiative, as it was presented by the summit of the Arab League, represents a non-starter in its current form.”
“We cannot accept on the one hand to have negotiations for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and on the other hand have all the Palestinians come into Israel,” he said in a press statement. “This means the destruction of the State of Israel and obviously we cannot agree,” he added.
In his press conference, Prince Saud urged the Israelis to embrace peace to stop the bloodshed. “Blood only brings blood. The Old Testament said so,” he said. “So my call to the Israeli people is the same call that his Royal Highness (Crown Prince Abdullah) gave them yesterday. If you want genuine peace, you must respond in kind,” the foreign minister said.
“I hope the people of Israel who are interested in the security and stability and future of their children will see to it that this peace initiative be responded to in kind,” he said.
Responding to a question on Wednesday’s bombing in the Israeli town of Netanya, Prince Saud said: “There are losses we do not condone. But there are Arabs, Palestinians killed everywhere, in Ramallah, in all these cities and villages of Palestine,” he added. “Where do you end? If I mention one dead here, do I mention the other dead there?” he asked.
The Saudi minister called the summit the most successful and historic Arab conference. He said the crown prince presented the new peace initiative to end the killing of Palestinians. “There were calls to continue the uprising. But no Arab forces or volunteers came forward to save the Palestinians.”
He said the new peace plan will at least put pressure on Israel from within and outside. “If anybody has a better proposal let him present it,” he challenged. He said no Arab country had boycotted the summit.
Prince Saud said the crown prince would discuss Middle East peace with US President George W. Bush in his upcoming visit to Washington.
The United States has welcomed the Beirut Declaration, with a senior US official, calling it a “positive development.”
“It is significant, we can’t recall a time when Arab leaders actually sat down and talked about peace with Israel.”
“It’s what we have to have, but we also need the violence to come down,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said on his return to the emirate from the summit that his country was “100 percent satisfied” with the agreement reached at the Arab summit with Iraq.
Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said most Arab leaders were happy with the Saudi-drafted resolution but Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud, the summit host, was demanding it mention that his country’s constitution rejects any settlement of Palestinian refugees on its territory.
The conference’s final declaration urged Israel and the Israeli people to accept this proposal so that a just peace might be achieved. At the same time, the summit condemned Israel’s policy of destruction and urged member states to “sever all contact with Israel” and revive the Arab economic boycott against the Jewish state until a comprehensive peace is achieved.
Earlier, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who has been prevented by Israeli forces from leaving his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah since December, had issued a further appeal for a “joint Arab position”. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in Beirut for the summit, said he had telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Arafat to demand an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East.
