In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

12/11/08: Toward Resolution —President of Israel Shimon Peres. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
11/25/08: U.S. Engagement with Iran: A How to Guide — Karim Sadjadpour, associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
11/20/08: Pakistan: Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq —Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

A Shared Interest

"With his enthusiastic embrace of the so-called Saudi peace plan, Olmert is committing Israel to accepting the Arab narrative of the Arab-Israeli conflict. … With Olmert now giving his stamp of approval to the Saudi plan, he is denying the country its moral right to defend itself both militarily and diplomatically."
—Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor, The Jerusalem Post; senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs, Center for Security Policy, "Tzipi and the Drug Lords," The Jerusalem Post, November 27, 2008

“Israel rejected the Initiative in the past without examining it in depth. According to the common wisdom, the more Arab partners involved, the more they’ll be pushing us and be in favor of the Palestinians. I think that in the present situation in the Arab and Muslim world, where we see strengthening of extremism that bothers moderate Arab states no less than it bothers us, the Arab states have an interest that such an agreement comes to fruition. And for that to happen, if there is a need to push the Palestinians or assist them, I think this is exactly the time to do that.”
—Maj. Gen (ret.) Danny Rothschild, president, Council for Peace and Security, interview, Israeli radio, Reshet Bet, November 2, 2008 (translated by Middle East Bulletin)

Middle East Analysis

Putting the Arab Peace Initiative Into Action —Ghaith al-Omari, director of advocacy, American Task Force on Palestine; former foreign policy adviser to Palestinian President Abbas. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
Peace Plan Needs PR Backing —Roula Khalaf (Financial Times)
A Comprehensive Agenda —Ezzedine Choukri-Fishere, former adviser to the Egyptian foreign minister, & Omar Dajani, former legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team (Al-Ahram Weekly)

A new chance for peace

March 5, 2007

"It was a veritable bevy of advocates of realpolitik, headlined by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, who told the audience, â€œAmerica must be prepared to talk to our enemies.â€"

The decision of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to hold the Arab League summit in Riyadh later this month to discuss proposing the 2002 Arab peace initiative anew, offers a fresh opportunity to revive the peace process between Israel and its neighbors, and to bolster the moderate axis in the Middle East against the emerging Iranian nuclear threat.

Abdullah’s original initiative proposed a simple formula: A complete Israeli withdrawal from the territories, including Jerusalem, in return for normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab world.

At the Beirut summit, which approved the plan as "the Arab peace initiative," significant changes were made. It was established that the Israeli pullout should be to the lines of June 4 , 1967, and a "refugees article" was added, calling for "a just and agreed-upon solution" to the problem according to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194, which the Palestinians interpret as recognition of the right of return.

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