A New Arab-Israeli Peace Plan

[Stone]

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/386411.html

This plan is being prepared by a coalition of Arab states. It would involve:

-Israel withdrawing to pre-1967 borders.
-Palestine existing in the pre-1967 borders.
-peace between Israel and all Arab countries.
-the other Arab countries absorbing Palestinian refugees.
-there would be no right of return.

It looks like the driving force behind the plan is a group of Saudi moderates. Maybe it's a Saudi powerplay against the Wahabbi monarchy?

I think that if the Arab side offers Israel a reasonable peace plan, Israel should pounce on it. It'll be good for relations, for everyone, if the Arab countries seem to be in control, leading, the peace process.

I don't know the whole of it, of course, I don't know if it'll work, but come on - peace, 1967 borders, and no right of return...it seems reasonable. If everything is on the up and up, I hope Israel responds favorably to this - and I hope we push them along.

If Israel needs a leadership change to get things done, then there's a solid scandal waiting in Israel for Sharon to push him out.

I may just be dreaming, but:

1.) An Arab-written and driven peace plan
2.) Peace
3.) pre-1967 borders
4.) a power shift towards Saudi moderates, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, and other Arab moderates (or potential moderates)
5.) pulling the carpet out beneath Iran and the rest of them
6.) no right of return

You can't really get any better than that.

If this plan starts rolling, Israel needs to just grit its teeth and commit to ignoring terrorists. They will try to fuck things up like they did with the Seder Massacre in 2002 - but Israel needs to remain confident that the terrorists represent a group entirely separate from the Arab moderates who are actually interested in peace, and it needs to trust that moderate group.

I wonder what, if any, involvement America should have in this? Offers of massive funding to get the Arab economies rolling again if this peace plan goes through?

I wonder what the best instrument would be to get Palestine's economy started up once they don't have the excuse of terrorism to sit on? I don't think they'd respond well to America funding them directly...maybe America increasing its commitment to the IMF, and the IMF suddenly forgetting about Palestine's unemployment and creditworthiness and becoming far more aggressive with investment.

It's hard to have hope about stuff like this, but it's good to see.

[Diff-chan]

Yea, if Israel gets the right of return thing then they should pounce on it.

But as long as Arafat is around I really dont see anything happening.

[Stone]

This plan isn't really about Arafat, though - it seems to be a peace plan between Israel and the rest of the Arab world.

Sharon's got that scandal hounding him - I wonder if there could be some sort of mutual removal of leaders, Arafat and Sharon, each hated by the other side. Sharon's too politicized of a figure to be successful during peace time.

[sleeve]

This plan, or a variation on it, has been pushed around by various Arab moderates for a few years now.

I don't see it happening.

The problem is, none of these Arab moderates are in positions of power.

[BURN007]

if this happins then its the begining of the end.!

[Gohron]

I don't think there'll be peace even if this does happen, and why should Israel give back the land they occupied from the 1967 war when it was mostly from Arab aggression?

[Stone]

I don't think there'll be peace even if this does happen, and why should Israel give back the land they occupied from the 1967 war when it was mostly from Arab aggression?

So Palestinian and Israeli kids stop getting killed? I agree with you, in a sense, but what's fair and what's tenable in this situation are two very different things. Both sides have fucked up, and both sides should make concessions. Blaming the guilty parties should really be the last of anyone's concerns. By negotiating with a group of Arab moderates who have separated themselves (sort of) from the true hardline terrorist-supporters (like the PLO), hopefully peace will be achieved without rewarding the work of terrorists.

This plan, or a variation on it, has been pushed around by various Arab moderates for a few years now.

I don't see it happening.

The problem is, none of these Arab moderates are in positions of power.

I believe the last time the plan was brought up was in 2002. Talks on it were fucked up by the Seder massacre (25 dead) - so there's still hope for it.

They aren't in power, no, but I'm happy just to know that the Arab moderates still have a heartbeat. The plan will fail, but if Israel does everything it can to work with Arab moderates, enough to turn this peace attempt into a near-success instead of abject failure, then maybe next time the Arab moderates will get a little closer. Baby steps.

[Gohron]

Maybe, but Israel didn't do much to warrent the wars in 1948 and 1967, I don't see peace over this issue for a very long time, no matter what concessions and comprimises are made. When the Islamic extremists in the area (notably the PLO) are stripped of their primary power base don't you think they'll come up with more reasons to get young men and women to blow themselves up?

[Stone]

Maybe, but as conditions in the area improve, as the Arab world becomes more westernized, developed, and as jobs start moving in, as women start being treated like human beings, then those young men and women will get happier. As their lives improve, their hatred of the west will decrease, and the reasons the PLO comes up with "to get young men and women to blow themselves up" will convince fewer people.

A lot of Arab nations are addicted to anti-colonialist violence the way that a drug addict is addicted to heroin. When you catch a heroin addict, you don't kill him, and you don't (heh, shouldn't) lock him up and throw away the key - you try to treat him, you try to defeat his dependence on the drug. You may have to control him while you treat him, but the end goal is to fix him, to make him better. Remove or counteract the elements of his personality that propel that addiction, and maybe he'll get over it.

A person with a vote and a job WILL NOT become a suicide bomber, no matter what his religion tells him to do.

[Almaci]

This is not the 2k2 plan but a 2k3 one and was already immediatly rejected by Israel.

I should check up on the specifics since I think it happened arund the time I was in Chicago and not following up on news too much.