DPA: Arabs want Israel to accept Saudi backed peace plan

Middle East Features

By Pakinam Amer
May 20, 2007, 16:59 GMT

Dead Sea, Jordan - Palestinian and Arab leaders, during a heated discussion on Sunday, called on Israel to accept the Saudi-backed Arab peace initiative and to offer Palestinians a sovereign state if they want to secure their lands.

They also charged that the Israeli occupation 'breeds violence' during discussion at a gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the Dead Sea resort.

'Security is provided to you by peace,' top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

Addressing Israelis, he said: 'Tell the Arabs 'we accept the (Arab peace) initiative and we'll talk with you.' That's how history is made.'

The reactivated five-year-old Arab initiative promises full normalization with Israel and Arab recognition of the Jewish state in return for a full Israeli pullout from the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, establishing East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.

The proposal also includes terms that would guarantee the right of return to thousands of Palestinian refugees stranded in poor conditions across hosting Arab countries, mainly Jordan and Lebanon.

But the highlight of the proposal is the end of occupation and establishment of a Palestinian state, which Erekat heavily addressed during the session.

'You are destroying us; you are destroying our social fabric,' he said. 'Get rid of the occupation if you don't want to see al-Qaeda and extremism.'

Israel did not say if they accepted the proposal, and Arab leaders had earlier expressed doubt that the Jewish state would easily get on board but nevertheless kept calling for their cooperation.

On Sunday Israeli's Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres told reporters at the WEF that Israel was 'ready to make a counter- proposal.'

'We are ready to sit down with whomever you want - the Saudis, the Arab League - and we shall try to air out the differences between us,' Peres said. 'You (Arabs) can't come to the negotiations table with a pistol in your hands,' he added.

However, Arab League Chief Amr Moussa, who was also in attendance, said they had offered a hand to Israel but 'we have received no counter-offer, just gestures.'

Erekat also said that Israel allowed no compromises to their policy, and asked Israel, as a token of good will, to lift the economic blockade on the Palestinian territories - a siege of sorts that Israel and International community imposed when militant Hamas came to power with a sweeping victory in Palestinian elections.

'Lift the siege, Palestinians are suffering enough,' Erekat told Peres in a firm tone. 'It's enough, the consequences of the war, and it's enough that we don't control our own water. You're not punishing political parties, you're punishing my wife, my child, my neighbour, all Palestinians.'

Although the session was not supposed to be a place for pointing fingers, observers said, Peres and Erekat's heated discussion almost turned into a row.

On one hand, Peres insisted that the security of Israel should be guaranteed, then the negotiations will follow. On the other hand, Erekat said 'Israel can think they can get security through more violence and settlements, we have seen this movie before. Violence breeds violence.'

The argument continued with Peres saying that Israel's problem was with Hamas.

'We opened the border, Hamas smuggled arms,' he said. 'Security is number one for us, we cannot permit people to be killed.'

But, retorted Moussa: 'The problem is not Hamas or Iran but the military occupation of the occupied territories.'

'You're not going to ask Palestinians to sit tight while Israelis do what they want to do. And Israel does what it wants to do, using violence as well,' he added.

Moussa joined Erekat in blaming the occupation, defending Hamas and deeming it an elected body and member of a national unity government, 'not a terrorist organization.'

During the sessions, Peres stood up, excused himself from the discussion and left the podium.

Reporters and the audience were surprised but the facilitator of the discussions claimed that this was by agreement, as 'Mr Peres had an appointment' to honour.

Moussa had also told Peres that Israel did not recognize the Palestinian state in documents and that they needed this recognition in writing.

'The record of Israel on abiding to agreements is a (disappointing) record,' Moussa said.

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