Last weekend, Arab heads of state at a summit meeting in Saudi Arabia reissued their offer to make permanent, comprehensive peace with Israel. The Israelis rejected the plan, but said they liked some of its elements. A week later, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a call for Saudi Arabia to lead a delegation of Arab leaders to Jerusalem to negotiate peace. The Saudis and other Arabs quickly rejected that call, insisting that Israel should withdraw from Arab lands occupied in 1967 before any meetings or talks could take place.
The Americans and Europeans, as usual, offered routine, bland statements encouraging peace talks and compromise, but seemed to do little else in public to capitalize on what looks like a possible historic opportunity to break the Arab-Israeli stalemate. I suggest a bold Arab move to break this logjam and find out who’s serious and who’s playing games. Read more>>
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