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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 versus
  • “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)

    Realizing the Arab Peace Initiative

    President Peres with Jordanian FM Abdul-Ilah Khatib, left, and Egyptian FM Ahmed Aboul Gheit, right (AP)

    Toward Resolution

    President of Israel Shimon Peres. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
    The Arab League first adopted the Saudi Peace Initiative as a proposed formula for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict in Beirut in March 2002 and endorsed it again five years later in 2007. How would you describe the initial reaction to the Initiative in 2002 among the Israeli public and Israel's leaders?

    You know, sometimes weird things happen. This was an important initiative and Israel ignored it. It was neither ruled out nor accepted, but simply ignored. The reason probably was that all the attention back then was diverted to the Palestinian track and to the terror attacks in Israel, such as the suicide bombing on Passover eve at the Park Hotel in Netanya.
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    Background Basics

    The Arab Peace Initiative

    The initiative is a framework for a comprehensive peace between Israel and all Arab countries. It is based on the principles of land for peace, as outlined in UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the two-state solution and the belief that use of armed force to resolve the conflict will provide neither peace nor security.

    The proposal calls for Israel to affirm:
    • Commitment to a full withdrawal from all occupied territories to the June 4, 1967 lines,

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    Ten Lessons to Guide Arab-Israeli Peacemaking

    From Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace by Daniel C. Kurtzer and Scott B. Lasensky.

    Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace is the product of a United States Institute of Peace study group that included William B. Quandt (University of Virginia), Steven L. Spiegel (UCLA) and Shibley Telhami (University of Maryland and the Brookings Institution). Its conclusions draw on more than 100 interviews and consultations with diplomats, political leaders and civil society figures involved in Arab-Israeli peacemaking in the

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