Shimon Peres: Time is ripe to end the Arab-Israeli conflict

Time is ripe to end the Arab-Israeli conflict
This is a unique opportunity for peace in the Middle East. The ship is waiting. It is time to sail

Shimon Peres


President Obama's journey to Saudi Arabia and Egypt could be an opportunity. It reflects both the need for an historic change in the Middle East and a unique chance of achieving it.

Various ideas are being discussed. One significant concept is King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia's peace initiative which was adopted by the Arab League in Beirut. Much wisdom lies also in King Abdullah of Jordan's proposal of a “57-state solution” to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The kings are right in seeing both the proper destination and the surest path for its realisation. With the support of the leadership in Egypt, it seems the time is ripe to end the Israeli-Arab conflict once and for all.

Achieving this historic goal calls for a twin-track approach. It requires bilateral negotiations between Israel and each of its neighbours - the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon. And in tandem with this, a regional process of normalisation of relations between Israel and the Arab states.

Such diplomatic architecture may introduce a win-win strategy for all parties. Support from the entire Arab world will provide legitimacy for the Palestinian Authority as it approaches the difficult task of making and then implementing historic compromises. At the same time it may reassure Israel that the painful concessions it will make will be rewarded by a broader, more enduring comprehensive peace across the region.

This approach is already set down in the internationally accepted “road map”. This framework outlines certain steps of normalisation towards Israel that must be taken by the Arab states as the bilateral process advances. In its second phase, it calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state with provisional borders that will serve as a step leading to permanent status. A similar plan was negotiated in the past. The Palestinians rejected provisional borders out of concern that they might become permanent. A regional agreement with American and European guarantees may assuage their doubts.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6426591.ece

...I can see no reason for placing special import on anything Peres says, considering he was a "leader" who was never able to win an election, but always ready to jump on board (and give "bipartisan" credibility to) any "national unity" government as yes-man to any hard-line Likud or Kadima leader who would promise him a position of prominence -- and then ignore him from then on.