Israel Rejects “Reactivated” Arab Peace Plan

A senior official from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office told Agence France-Presse (AFP) the Arabs were trying “to give this illusion of unity on the surface by adopting resolutions that contradict with all of the advances made, particularly by Egypt and Jordan, which is unacceptable”.

Egypt and Jordan have recently sent back their ambassadors to Tel Aviv for the first time in four years.

“The summit proved it is out of touch with reality and in a delicate situation regarding developments in the Arab world,” the official added to AFP, on condition of anonymity.

The summit’s final declaration to be released later Wednesday makes peace with Israel conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state and the return of refugees.

“Based on the Arab peace initiative, Arab countries will therefore consider the Arab-Israeli conflict over and will set up normal ties with Israel within the framework of a comprehensive peace,” according to a copy obtained by AFP.

Israel had showered with praise a Jordanian peace vision that was to replace the initiative but faced fierce opposition from most of the foreign ministers earlier in the week.

Israeli Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres, in an interview with the Israeli public radio, that the Arab leaders would adopt the Jordanian blueprint and prove “peace-loving.”

The text of a Jordanian peace version, called for not linking the normalization of relations with Israel with the full withdrawal form the occupied territories occupied in the 1967 war, but rather with the planned Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip in July.

Final Declaration

A final declaration to be issued at the end of the summit, which closes later in the day, echoes the one released at last year’s Tunis conference.

It pledges Arab support for Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians’ efforts to recover land occupied by Israel.

It reaffirms “respect for Iraq’s unity, sovereignty and independence and non-interference in its domestic affairs” and welcomes its political transition following the legislative elections held in January.

It also voiced support for Sudan and concern over the Darfur crisis, calling for emergency humanitarian aid but failing to make any specific commitment.

It likewise condemned “terrorism in all its forms and regardless of its motives and justifications” and said it should not be linked to Islam.

Concretely they agreed to set up a pan-Arab parliament and “a follow-up body for resolutions, changing of voting methods, decision-making” within the Arab League.

They also exhorted members of the cash-strapped League to pay up their dues and arrears but took no measures to sanction those who fail to do so.

The leaders — who will meet in Khartoum next year — promised to pursue a plan for reform announced last year but did not emphasize what they will do despite incessant appeals from the West to see more democracy in the region.

The meeting in the Algerian capital has also raised questions about the absence of several key players and the failure of leaders to tackle some of the most controversial issues facing their troubled region.

Only 13 heads of states from the 22-member Arab League attended the annual summit.

Key players such as Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, failed to show up.