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The Arab
Peace Initiative

Introduction

In March 2002 in Beirut the Arab League put forward a proposal calling for peace in the Middle East and normalization of relations with Israel on the basis of an Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied in 1967; a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem; and the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Initiative is based on proposals put forward by now Saudi King Abdullah and recommits all Arab states to the pursuit of "a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East," describing this as "the strategic option of the Arab Countries."

The initiative, which was presented as the closing statement of the Beirut summit, calls on Israel to "reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well."

The Israeli government initially responded cautiously to the Initiative, before rejecting it outright in its May 2003 "Fourteen comments on the Road Map.' In the document Israel demanded the removal of all references to the Saudi and Arab League Initiatives, not directly related to UN resolutions, from Road Map documents.

The Arab league Initiative was rejected by the Israeli government without proper discussion and the proposal has not received significant media coverage in Israel.

As a result the vast majority of the Israeli public is not aware of the Initiative's existence or, if aware, have very little information about its content.

We believe that if more Israelis knew about the Initiative and had the opportunity to discuss and explore its implications public pressure on the government would build rapidly and lead to measurable progress towards regional peace.