Arab Peace Initiative
The Arab Peace Initiative (), also known as the "Saudi Initiative", is a 10 sentence proposal for an end to the Arab–Israeli conflict that was endorsed by the Arab League in 2002 at the Beirut Summit and re-endorsed at the 2007 Arab League summit and at the 2017 Arab League summit. The initiative calls for normalizing relations between the Arab region and Israel, in exchange for a full withdrawal by Israel from the occupied territories (including East Jerusalem) and a "just settlement" of the Palestinian refugee problem based on UN Resolution 194. The Initiative was initially overshadowed by the Passover Massacre, a major terrorist attack that took place on March 27, 2002, the day before the Initiative was published.

The Israeli government under Ariel Sharon rejected the initiative as a "non-starter". Sharon said the new plan could not be accepted because it would replace UN resolutions 242 and 338, which called for bilateral negotiations. After the renewed Arab League endorsement in 2007, then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave a cautious welcome to the plan. In 2009, President Shimon Peres expressed satisfaction at the "u-turn" in the attitudes of Arab states toward peace with Israel as reflected in the Saudi initiative, though he did qualify his comments by saying: "Israel wasn't a partner to the wording of this initiative. Therefore it doesn't have to agree to every word."^

More recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed tentative support for the initiative, saying he accepts the "general idea" with significant caveats, specifically its calls for Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights and accept the relocation of millions of Palestinian refugees into Israel.

The Palestinian Authority led by Yasser Arafat immediately embraced the initiative. His successor Mahmoud Abbas also supported the plan and officially asked U.S. President Barack Obama to adopt it as part of his Middle East policy. Islamist political party Hamas, the elected government of the Gaza Strip, is deeply divided, with most factions rejecting the plan.

The plan

Prelude to the 2002 Beirut summit

The Arab League summit held in the aftermath of the massive Israeli victory in the Six-Day War established the Khartoum Resolution on September 1, 1967 with the "three No's" that was to be the center of all Israeli-Arab relations after that point: No peace deals, no diplomatic recognitions, and no negotiations. UN Security Council Resolution 242, which called for normalization of Israel with the Arab states and for Israel to give up territories taken during the war, was enacted on November 22, 1967 and faced initial rejection by most of the Arab world. The peace initiative, according to Oxford Research Group, represents a total break from this past.

Like most peace plans since 1967, it is based on UN Security Council Resolution 242. It followed the July 2000 Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David which ended in failure and the al-Aqsa Intifada beginning in September 2000. In fall 2002, the Bush administration strenuously tried to push a temporary cease-fire in the intifada to give breathing room for the Beirut summit but failed to achieve an agreement. However, the presence of American negotiator Anthony Zinni in Israel led to a lull in the conflict for the two weeks before the summit. During this period, the administration hoped to draw attention away from the Iraq disarmament crisis that would later escalate into the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Some reporters were skeptical about the summit's possibilities. Robert Fisk explained the absence of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah as because "they can smell a dead rat from quite a long way away." On March 14, analyst Shai Feldman stated on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer that "[t]here's little hope that negotiations will pick up or that negotiations will eventually succeed in bringing about a negotiated outcome between the two sides" in both Palestine and Israel. However, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Thomas Friedman met Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in February 2002 and personally encouraged him to make the peace proposal.

2002 summit

The declaration

Only ten of the twenty-two leaders invited to the March 27 Arab League summit in Beirut, Lebanon attended. The missing included Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and King Abdullah of Jordan. Ariel Sharon's government, despite American and European pressure, had told Arafat that he would not be allowed to return if he left for the summit. The lack of participation led Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter Tim Palmer to label the summit "emasculated".

The Arab League members unanimously endorsed the peace initiative on March 27. It consists of a comprehensive proposal to end the entire Arab–Israeli conflict. It provides in a relevant part:

Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia made a speech to the Arab League on the day of its adoption saying that:

The initiative refers to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194, which emphasizes the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel. In a compromise wording, it states that the League supports any negotiated settlement between Israel and Palestinians and does not mention the term "right of return".

Resistance to the summit

Although the Initiative was adopted unanimously, there was some debate on certain issues. The summit leaders faced stiff opposition from the government of Syria, which insisted on letting the Palestinians pursue armed resistance. It also objected to the use of the term "normalization" and insisted that any such offer was too generous to Israel. The government of Lebanon expressed concerns that some of its Palestinian refugees would try to settle where they are, which it strongly opposes.

Members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, committed the Passover Massacre on that same day as the launching of the peace initiative . A suicide bomber at the Park Hotel in Netanya, Israel injured over 170 people and killed 30, with the victims including several children. Hamas spokesman Usama Hamdan said that "This is a trial (attempt) to send a letter, to send a message, to all the world that we are trying to fight for our own freedom against a terrorist government in Israel led by Sharon" and that Israelis "have to expect those attacks from everywhere, from every Palestinian group." Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin said that the attack sent "a message to the Arab summit to confirm that the Palestinian people continue to struggle for the land and to defend themselves no matter what measures the enemy takes." The Arab League said through a spokesperson they did not think the perpetrators purposely planned the massacre to derail the Beirut summit.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack. Arafat personally ordered the arrests of militants associated with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as a response. However, Ariel Sharon blamed Arafat for the attack as well. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah condemned it, while also commenting that "I will add to this by saying to the Israeli people that if their government stopped its methods of violence and destruction, and agreed to real peace, we will not hesitate in accepting that Israel live in peace with the rest of the nations in the region."

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell stated that the bombing set the peace process back but vowed to continue. However, at that time an Israeli government spokesman stated that "[t]here ain't going to be any negotiations under fire". Another Israeli government spokesman stated that:

The Passover Massacre as well as other attacks lead to a deeper escalation of the al-Aqsa Intifada and helped falter the initiative. The peace initiative received an initial mixed response from the Israelis and it has remained dormant since despite some later comments that were more supportive. The resuscitation of the intifada led the United Nations Security Council to issue a unanimous resolution on March 30, 2002, Resolution 1402, which criticized all sides. It provides in relevant part that:

Re-adoption at the 2007 Riyadh summit

With the exception of Libya, all leaders from the Arab League's 22 member states attended the two-day summit in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, from March 28, to March 29, 2007. The initiative was fully re-endorsed by all members but the delegate from Hamas, then-Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, abstained. In contrast, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas voted in favor. The initiative itself was left unchanged during its re-adoption. Until the eve of the summit, members had refused to consider altering any part of it. Arab League head Amr Moussa stated that the Israel-Palestinian conflict was at a crossroads where "either we move towards a real peace or see an escalation in the situation".

During the summit, King Abdullah denounced the United States-led occupation of Iraq; his comments may have been in response to a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking the Arab world to "begin reaching out to Israel". He also called on the Israeli blockade of Gaza to end, saying that "It has become necessary to end the unjust blockade imposed on the Palestinian people as soon as possible so that the peace process can move in an atmosphere far from oppression and force." The American and Israel governments had been heavily pushing the Arab states to cut their support for Hamas before the summit began.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon attended the summit, saying "the Arab peace initiative is one of the pillars of the peace process... [it] sends a signal that the Arabs are serious about achieving peace." European Union foreign policy leader Javier Solana observed the proceedings and expressed the EU's support for the decision, saying that "[f]ailure to rise to today's challenges will put the Middle East risk of missing the train of human and economic development". He also emphasized that the initiative served as a proposal up for further negotiations rather than a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum for both sides.

PLO negotiations chief Saeb Erekat refused to accept anything other than the summit's draft and ruled out any negotiations that could alter it. In contrast, Saudi Foreign Minister Saudi al-Faisal said that members have "to take notice of new developments, which require additions and developments in whatever is offered".

Implementation
The initiative calls for the establishment of a special committee composed of a portion of the Arab League's concerned member states and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to pursue the necessary contacts to gain support for the initiative at all levels, particularly from the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the Muslim states and the European Union. This special commission would also consist of delegations from both Egypt and Jordan on behalf of the Arab world.

Reactions

U.S. reactions
Initially, the initiative was met with enthusiastic support from the Bush administration. According to Bush's spokesperson Ari Fleischer "the president praised the crown prince's ideas regarding the full Arab-Israeli normalization once a comprehensive peace agreement has been reached."  Though the president later stressed that it could only be implemented with the cessation of terrorist attacks against Israel.

His successor, Barack Obama expressed praise in the spirit, but not support of its details, for the Initiative in the first days of his presidency. In an interview with Al-Arabiya network on January 27, 2009, he said:

George Mitchell, then the United States special envoy to the Middle East, announced in March 2009 that President Barack Obama's administration intends to "incorporate" the initiative into its Middle East policy.

Israeli reactions

Israeli officials have made many different responses ranging from positive, to neutral, to negative. When the plan came out in 2002, the Israeli government rejected the initiative, on the grounds that it would result in the return of a large number of Palestinians into Israel. Israel expressed reservations on "red line" issues on which it stated that it would not compromise. The 1948 Palestinian exodus, Israel's homeland security against terror attacks, and the nature of Jerusalem are the three most prominent such issues. Israel has stated that the return of millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants would turn Israel into an Arab state. Israel has also had concerns about compromise on Jerusalem due to the city's historical and religious significance to Jews, especially since East Jerusalem contains the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, and that a unified Jerusalem has been Israel's proclaimed capital since the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1980. It is also concerned about the possible danger of making a complete withdrawal to the borders of 1967, which would possibly render Israel more vulnerable to attacks. The allegedly non-negotiable nature of the initiative's provisions, which must be accepted first before any further dialogue can take place, forms a stumbling block for the Israeli government, Israel had asked for amendments after the 2002 summit. The Passover Massacre overshadowed the initial 2002 initiative, and it initially derailed further progress on it. Oslo Agreement negotiator Joel Singer commented shortly after the Beirut Summit that "the major problem with it is that it only called upon Israel to do a series of things and there was no call upon the Palestinians to stop terrorism."

BBC News stated that the 2007 re-adoption prompted a more supportive response from the government than the initial 2002 initiative, which ended up being "rejected... outright after it was first proposed". Israel attempted to mount a counter-proposal in May 2007 to work out those contentious issues. In May 2007, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said that "Israel has no interest in stagnation and unfortunately, if the Arab initiative is take it or leave it, that will be a recipe for stagnation". Progress stalled until Israel began a serious reconsideration of the offer in October 2008. As of January 2009, both sides have been unable to come to any agreement and the initiative seems dormant.

In terms of public opinion, the Oxford Research Group has reported that attitudes range "between those who have never heard of it, and those who don't believe a word of it." A November–December 2008 poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah and the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace in Jerusalem found that only 36% of Israelis support the plan. A June 2008 Angus Reid Global Monitor poll found that about 67% of Palestinians and 39% of Israelis support it.

Israeli statements

Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly rejected the initiative at 2007 during a time he was leader of the Israeli opposition. He told visiting Arab foreign ministers that "The withdrawal from Gaza two years ago proved that any Israeli withdrawal – particularly a unilateral one – does not advance peace, but rather establishes a terror base for radical Islam." In 2015 he elaborated "there are positive aspects and negative aspects to it [the initiative]." While noting that the situation has changed in the 13 years since the deal was proposed, he asserted that "the general idea - to try and reach understandings with leading Arab countries - is a good idea." Israeli Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on April 21, 2009 that the plan is "a dangerous proposal, a recipe for the destruction of Israel."

On March 28, 2002, then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said:

Likud party spokesperson Zalman Shoval said in March 2007 that Israel would never accept the return of refugees who had lived in pre-1967 Israeli territory, saying "If 300,000–400,000, or maybe a million, Palestinians would invade the country, that would be the end of the state of Israel as a Jewish state.... That's not why we created the state." Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also stated that month that "I'll never accept a solution that is based on their return to Israel, any number.... I will not agree to accept any kind of Israel responsibility for the refugees. Full stop.... It's a moral issue of the highest level. I don't think that we should accept any kind of responsibility for the creation of this problem." In general, however, Olmert has described the initiative as a "revolutionary change".

The day before, the Israeli consul general in New York City had said:

Yossi Alpher, a political consultant and writer and former senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said in November 2008 that: "The initiative is unique in terms of the comprehensive “payoff” it offers Israel and, with regard to refugees, both the absence of any direct mention of the right of return and the recognition that Israel's agreement to a solution must be solicited. It represents huge progress from the days in 1967". On November 12, 2008, President Shimon Peres reiterated his support for the initiative at the UN General Assembly Meeting on Inter-Faith Dialogue:

American-Israeli journalist Caroline B. Glick, editor of the English-language Jerusalem Post said in March 2007 that "there is no chance whatsoever that the Saudi initiative will bring peace" and labeled it "a recipe for Israel's destruction". Kadima Chairperson Tzipi Livni has distanced herself from it given her uncompromising opposition to the return of the Palestinian refugees. In October 2008, Likud Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz, who served on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, referred to the 2007 initiative re-launch as a nonstarter and called then Defense Minister Ehud Barak's supportive remarks "an empty political gesture." In a recent study by Joshua Teitelbaum, for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, he calls on Israel to reject the plan based on its "all or nothing" attitude, emphasizing that true peace will come with negotiations.

At the 2009 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference, President Shimon Peres expressed satisfaction at the "u-turn" in the attitudes of Arab states toward peace with Israel as reflected in the Saudi initiative, though he did qualify his comments by saying: "Israel wasn't a partner to the wording of this initiative. Therefore it doesn't have to agree to every word."

Nevertheless, Israel respects the profound change, and hopes it will be translated into action," Peres added. "I trust that the leadership of President Obama will pave the way to both to a regional agreement and meaningful bilateral negotiations."

"Israel stands with her arms outstretched, and her hands held open to peace with all nations, with all Arab states, with all Arab people." the president declared.

"To those still holding a clenched fist I have just one word to say: Enough. Enough war. Enough destruction. Enough hatred. Now is the time for change," said Peres. Israel is prepared today to bring peace closer. Today."

Danny Ayalon, who was then a policy adviser to Prime Minister Sharon, stated that he was sent to meet Saudi officials to discuss the initiative but according to Ayalon, was refused a meeting.

Palestinian reactions

Polls of the Palestinian people have generated large support for the plan. Support has decreased slightly after the Gaza War. However, the majority is still in favor.

Palestinian Authority

The Arab Peace Plan has received the full support of Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, which even took the unprecedented step of placing advertisements in Israeli newspapers on November 20, 2008 to promote it. The Palestinian Authority published full-page notices in Hebrew in four major Israeli daily newspapers, which reproduced the text of the Initiative in full and added that "Fifty-seven Arab and Islamic countries will establish diplomatic ties and normal relations with Israel in return for a full peace agreement and an end to the occupation." A November–December poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah and the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace in Jerusalem found that only 25% of Israelis saw the ads and only 14% actually read them.

Peace Now reciprocated the PLO's gesture by running its own ads in the Palestinian press. After the 2007 summit, Mahmoud Abbas said that "This initiative simply says to Israel 'leave the occupied territories and you will live in a sea of peace that begins in Nouakchott and ends in Indonesia'". Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has offered his full support of the Arab Peace Initiative, and has urged Israel to support it on several occasions. Most recently, in an October 19, 2008 statement, Erekat said that "I think Israel should have [supported the Initiative] since 2002. It is the most strategic initiative that came from the Arab world since 1948.... I urge them to revisit this initiative and to go with it because it will shorten the way to peace."

Hamas
From its inception in 2002, the Initiative deeply divided the organization. As stated before, members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, committed the Passover Massacre on same day as the peace Initiative's adoption. At that time, Hamas rejected not only peace with Israel but even negotiations with it. The official administration of Hamas never recognized the Initiative, which alienated it from members of the Arab League, especially Jordan and Egypt. One of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' conditions of forming a national coalition government with Hamas after the 2006 election was that Hamas had to recognize the Initiative, but he was unsuccessful.

Hamas' spokesman Ismail Abu Shanab told The San Francisco Chronicle in April 2002 that the organization would accept it, saying "That would be satisfactory for all Palestinian military groups to stop and build our state, to be busy in our own affairs, and have good neighborhood with Israelis." The newspaper reporters who interviewed Shanab questioned whether or not he truly spoke for the administration and could not corroborate his story. Hamas' foreign minister Mahmoud al-Zahar said in June 2006 that the organization rejects the initiative. Prime Minister Ismail Haneya said in October 2006 that the "problem with the Arab peace initiative is that it includes recognition of the state of Israel, the thing that the Palestinian government rejects" and dismissed it. That month, Mahmoud al-Zahar declared unequivocally: "Hamas will never change its position regardless of the pressure's intensity" and "We will never recognize the Arab initiative."

After the revival of the initiative in March 2007, Hamas continued a policy of ambiguity with many officials giving negative responses while some gave neutral or hopeful responses. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told Haaretz that "the issue is not a 'yes' or 'no' by Hamas regarding the initiative. We respect the Arab efforts to attain Palestinian rights and we will act within the Arab consensus. Nonetheless, the Zionist enemy continues to reject the initiative and we will not determine our position in reference to it before it has been accepted." Haaretz sources in Palestine state that Hamas wanted to oppose the initiative outright but did not do so because it did not want to break with the Saudi Arabian government. Hamas figure Khaled Meshaal ridiculed the PLO pro-initiative ad campaign, saying “The rights of Palestinians can be achieved only through resistance, not advertisements”.

Time stated in January 2009 that "In the Arab world, only Hamas and Hizballah, with the backing of Tehran, reject the Arab peace initiative." Left-wing Israeli commentator and former Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin also said in January 2009 that "Hamas considers its adherence to the three "nos" of Khartoum from 1967, which the entire Arab world abandoned in adopting the Arab peace initiative, to be its primary distinctive feature Fateh. Even a prolonged battering by the IDF will not bring Hamas to make this change." The Khaleej Times editorialized in December 2008 that "The Arab peace plan remains the best and most pragmatic solution to Palestine-Israel conflict.... Even though Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not prepared to accept anything short of the entire Palestine occupied in 1940s, if the plan is accepted by Israel and US, the Arabs could possibly persuade Islamists to embrace it too."

Arab reactions

Many Arab policy makers, chiefs of state, and commentators have written in support of the initiative since 2002. Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote in The Washington Post in support shortly after Barack Obama's 2008 election victory. al-Faisal stated that "there are reasons to be optimistic" and"best medicine yet formulated for the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is the Arab peace initiative". He also called the plan "a high price for peace" from the Arab perspective.

Marwan Muasher, formerly Jordanian Foreign Minister and the first Jordanian ambassador to Israel, wrote in Haaretz on August 19, 2008 that:

In addition, the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council expressed their support of the Initiative on May 20 during a consultative meeting that was held in Dammam.

Support for the Arab Peace Plan was also expressed by Andre Azoulay, a Jewish adviser to Moroccan King Mohammed VI. On October 28, 2008, Mr Azoulay said at a conference in Tel Aviv that: "I am a Jew with a commitment," said Andre Azoulay. "I'm an Arab Jew. I advise the king of Morocco... The Arab mainstream sees Israel as the party responsible for preventing peace, not the Arabs.... [The Peace Plan] is something that the Israelis hoped for ten years ago. But who knows about it in Israel today? Who will take the initiative and explain it? The momentum will not last forever. This is a dangerous situation. Tomorrow something could happen in the West Bank and blow the whole deal, and we'll have to wait again."

Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah's bloc in the Lebanese parliament, condemned the peace plan, saying that "[t]his option cannot be promoted in the Arab and Islamic worlds anymore". Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem also made similar remarks.

In June 2009, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak repeated his support for the peace plan. He also stated that it does not mean recognizing Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, since that would imply giving up the right of return. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman also made similar statements and he called on the international community to push Israel towards accepting the peace plan. Both leaders had responded to an address by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

International reactions

Outside of the Middle East, the Arab Peace Initiative has received praise of chiefs of state throughout the world, international organisations, and a large number of political commentators specializing in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, has led this chorus of support on a number of occasions. Recently, he voiced his view of the Initiative in his address to the Summit of the League of Arab States on March 28, 2007, in which he said:

The Arab Peace Initiative was endorsed by the Quartet on the Middle East on April 30, 2003, and recognized its importance in the Road Map. A joint statement issued by the Quartet on May 30, 2007 provides that:

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown also voiced support for the Initiative during a press conference that was held on December 15, 2008 at the London Business Forum on Trade and Investment with Palestine, Downing Street. The Prime Minister said:

The UK Foreign Minister David Miliband reiterated that support on November 24, 2008. In a speech delivered on that day in Abu Dhabi at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, he said that:

All of the 57 states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) have expressed their support for the Arab Peace Initiative. The members of the Organisation re-affirm their support at almost each of their session (including, for example, the 33rd Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers Session of Harmony of Rights, Freedoms and Justice, which took place on June 19–21, 2006 in Baku, Azerbaijan).

AIPAC opposed the initiative, and referred to it as an "ultimatum".

Support from Middle East analysts
The Initiative has also obtained the support of a large number of leading commentators on Middle East issues. On April 9, 2007, Noam Chomsky, offered the following thoughts shortly after the Beirut Declaration was readopted by the League of Arab States:

Shortly before the Beirut Declaration was to be readopted by the Arab League in 2007, Thomas Friedman wrote in The New York Times that:

On November 21, 2008, Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote in an article in the Washington Post that they also supported key parts of the Initiative, while adding conditions that until now have been rejected by the Arab states that sponsored it when they said:

Henry Siegman, former Senior Fellow and Director of the U.S./Middle East Project at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress, wrote in the Financial Times on April 26, 2007 that:

Ian Black, The Guardian'''s Middle East Editor, wrote on October 18, 2008 that:

Jonathan Freedland, also from The Guardian, wrote on December 17, 2008 that:

On the day that the Arab Peace Initiative was to be readopted by the Arab League in 2007, Donald Macintyre wrote in The Independent that:

The Oxford Research Group organised a meeting in October 2008 that was attended by senior policy makers and analysts in order to discuss the Arab Peace Initiative. A report was published in November 2008 in order to summarize the meeting's findings, which included the following:

On March 26, 2012, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the proposal, Haaretzs Akiva Eldar wrote that Israel's failure to respond adequately to the Arab proposal was part of the country's "worst missed opportunity".

Right of return
The Arab Peace Initiative, which was ratified at the summit of Arab leaders in Beirut in March 2002, presented principles for an agreement in the Israeli-Arab conflict, and included reference to the Palestinian refugee problem. The relevant passage in its decisions on this matter determined: "To accept to find an agreed, just solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees in conformity with Resolution 194," and "the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries."

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs say that, by rejecting "patriation" (tawtin in Arabic) or the resettlement of the refugees in any Arab state,  the Arab Peace Initiative essentially leaves each refugee with no choice but to go to Israel itself,   According to this same institute, the Arab states used even more explicit language on this point in a Final Statement that accompanied their initiative, and the Initiative rejected any solution that involves "resettling of the Palestinians outside of their homes." What this means, in the opinion of the  Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, is that the Arab Peace Initiative opposes keeping any Palestinian refugee population in Lebanon, Syria, or Jordan; it also does not envision the Palestinian refugees being resettled in a West Bank and Gaza Palestinian state.

 Current status 

Jordan and Egypt were appointed by the Arab League as its representatives to meet with Israeli leaders to promote the Initiative. These countries were chosen because Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel. Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit met with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem on July 25, 2007, which was the first time that Israel received an official delegation from the Arab League. Haaretz."Weekend News Wrapup- 7/15/07" Cafe Cordover"A Revealing Spat Between Israel and the Arab League" World Politics Review"The Arab League in Israel?" Cafe Cordover"Israel gets 'historic' Arab visit – Envoys urge action on Palestinian state" United Jerusalem

The Arab League also sent President-Elect Obama an official communication that was signed by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and delivered to Obama via an aide. A spokesman for the Arab League explained that:

In November 2008, The Sunday Times reported that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama is going to support the plan, saying to Mahmoud Abbas during his July 2008 visit to the Middle East that "The Israelis would be crazy not to accept this initiative. It would give them peace with the Muslim world from Indonesia to Morocco."
After becoming president, Obama told Al Arabiya, "I might not agree with every aspect of the proposal, but it took great courage... to put forward something that is as significant as that."

George Mitchell, the United States special envoy to the Middle East, announced in March 2009 that the Obama administration intends to "incorporate" the initiative into its Middle East policy. It was also reported in March 2009 that the U.S. State Department is preparing a plan to market the Initiative to Israelis, and will release a document highlighting the gestures that Arab nations have agreed to take under the initiative. The report specified that the purpose was to "break down the Arab Peace Initiative into its details and not leave it as a purely theoretical framework."

On May 6, 2009, Al-Quds al-Arabi, the London-based Arabic language daily, reported that as per a request from U.S. President Barack Obama the Arab League is currently in the process of revising the initiative in an effort to encourage Israel to agree to it. The new revisions include a demilitarization of the future Palestinian state as well as a forfeiture of the Palestinian right of return to Israel proper. According to the revisions, a portion of the refugees would be relocated to the future Palestinian state, and the rest would be naturalized in other Arab countries.

On April 30, 2013, The Arab league re-endorsed the Arab Peace Initiative, with the updated terms that Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement should be based on the two-state solution on the basis of the 4th of June 1967 line, with the possibility of comparable and mutual agreed minor swaps of the land between Israel and Palestine.

 See also 

2012 return of bodies
Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia
Israeli views of the peace process
Palestinian views of the peace process
Two-state solution
Israeli Peace Initiative

 References 

 External links 

Time to Return to the Saudi Peace Plan, Abdul Rahman, Newsweek, February 7, 2009
Can Israel agree to peace?, Ahmed El Amraoui, Al Jazeera English, February 18, 2009
Analysis of the Arab League "Peace Plan", Mitchell Bard, Jewish Virtual LibraryThe Arab Peace Initiative: Why Now?, Gabrielle Rifkind, Oxford Research Group, November, 2008
The Arab Peace Initiative: A Primer and Future Prospects, Joshua Teitelbaum, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs'', 2009