Arab leaders to relaunch Peace offer to Israel

[irishgrl]

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Arab leaders to relaunch peace offer to Israel

By Wafa AmrWed Mar 28, 6:32 PM ET

Arab leaders will formally relaunch a five-year-old initiative on Thursday to trade peace for land and end the Arab-Israeli conflict which is at the heart of the region's problems.

A summit, which began on Wednesday, has drawn several world and Muslim leaders who backed the Arab peace plan offering Israel normal ties with all Arab countries in return for its withdrawal from land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

"The Arab peace initiative is one of the pillars for the peace process ... This initiative sends a signal that the Arabs are serious about achieving peace," U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon told Arab leaders on Wednesday, according to an Arabic translation.

Palestinian ambassador Jamal Shobaki said the leaders had agreed on Wednesday to endorse a set of resolutions influenced by the plan, which also calls for the creation of a Palestinian state and a "just solution" for Palestinians displaced in 1948.

"The leaders had approved all the draft resolutions in the closed session," he told Reuters. "Tomorrow the session will only include speeches by some of the leaders before the final communiqu� is read."

Israel has objected to key elements in the plan, including the proposed return to 1967 borders, the inclusion of Arab East Jerusalem in a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees to homes in what is now Israel.

Islamist group Hamas, which heads the Palestinian government, has also called on Arab leaders not to compromise on the right of refugees to return to homes lost in the turmoil surrounding the creation of the Israeli state.

A final draft resolution calls for a "just solution" to the problem of Palestinian refugees who fled their homes in 1948 but avoids any mention of the phrase "right of return."

UNITED FRONT

The Arab summit comes against a tense regional backdrop, with fears high among Arab leaders that a U.S.-led attack on non-Arab Iran, which has refused to comply with U.N. demands to halt atomic work, could further destabilize their region.

Riyadh, pressed by its ally Washington to show more leadership in the region, has called on Sunni Muslim states to overcome divisions, arguing a united front will help persuade Israel to address Palestinian grievances.

Saudi King Abdullah called at the start of the summit on Wednesday for an end to the international blockade on the Palestinian government.

"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," King Abdullah said.

Saudi Arabia last month brokered a unity government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and Hamas, hoping it would help end a crippling Western blockade imposed after the Islamist group took office over a year ago.

Israel and the United States have urged countries to cut political and financial support to the Hamas-led government because Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept existing peace deals.

While resolutions will focus on the decades-long conflict at the heart of the region's problems, crises in Iraq, Sudan and Lebanon are also on the agenda.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters the summit resolutions would include a call by Iraq's government for all militia to disband and for the constitution to be revised.

(this space used to have Reuters copyright info. taken out by me. so sue me)

so. Any thoughts anyone? Dare we hope for peace in the Mideast in our lifetimes? Personally, I would hate to see Israel cede land they captured from the 67 war. I mean, Jerusalem is their HOLY city and was such long before the Muslims captured it and claimed it for their own. IMO, the Christian/Jew (not in that order) claim to Jerusalem is stronger than the Muslim claim. For Israel to cede Jerusalem (or any part of it) to the Muslims/Arabs would be comparable to the Muslims ceding control over Mecca or Medina. Thus, while the Palestinians could say that they lived there for hundreds of years, the historical record is clear, that land, that city in particular was of primary import to the Jews and later the Christians FIRST. JMO.

[strandinthewind]

Don't hold your breath.

[irishgrl]

yeah *sigh* you're probably right.....

[markolas]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

so. Any thoughts anyone? Dare we hope for peace in the Mideast in our lifetimes? Personally, I would hate to see Israel cede land they captured from the 67 war. I mean, Jerusalem is their HOLY city and was such long before the Muslims captured it and claimed it for their own. IMO, the Christian/Jew (not in that order) claim to Jerusalem is stronger than the Muslim claim. For Israel to cede Jerusalem (or any part of it) to the Muslims/Arabs would be comparable to the Muslims ceding control over Mecca or Medina. Thus, while the Palestinians could say that they lived there for hundreds of years, the historical record is clear, that land, that city in particular was of primary import to the Jews and later the Christians FIRST. JMO.

First, I have to say that I don't give a sh*t about holy lands, or holy cities, or whose fictitious tribal war-god gave what land to who first. This is an example of the kind of stupid fanatical religious bullsh*t that is going to be the end of us all. It doesn't matter who had it first; if it's going to stop them from blowing up the rest of us, why not give them back their f*cking homeland? Nobody gives a sh*t if your "God's chosen people." The "people of the book" need to get over themselves. The rest of us certainly have.

[irishgrl]

a) your question is specious because DUH, the "homeland" belonged to the JEWS first! KEEP UP! Thus, the Jews only reclaimed their own again.

b) I know it isnt important to you, but it is vitally important to these peoples because it validates their reason for being. So, YES it DOES matter who had it first. IMO, it matters to all of us who has the legitimate claim.

c) While I am not a rabid hard line Christian Fundamentalist,(far from it in fact) I have made it a point to study the issues of the region of the Middle East. Ive done this for over 30 years. Realistically speaking, no progress has been made. and none will be made until the Arabs recognize the Jews and their right to their OWN homeland.


ok. let me just make myself plain. I think its a bad faith move for the Arabs to ask the Jews to surrender their own "Holy Land". The Arabs wouldnt do it, not in a million years. And to expect the Jews to do it is basically sticking a needle in their eye IMO. "OK, we'll stop warring on you, just give us back the other half of your holy city and we'll recognize you." If I was Israel, I'd say NO too.

ETA: I know I come on strong on this topic, and Im not trying to be nasty. really. I just feel that what the Arabs are asking of the Jews is an insult. Even tho I am not Jew and even tho I have no truck with organized Christianity, I still believe that the Muslims/Arabs are in the wrong. Again, JMO. (Im sure Fur Elise will have some sort of rejoinder, but meh, who cares?)

[markolas]

If they'd leave the rest of the world out of it, I honestly wouldn't care. Let them duke it out and kill each other over it. But they're going to drag us into it, and probably destroy civilization as we know it in the process. I hope it's worth it to them, that's all I can say.

[irishgrl]

I agree. I think its a scary prospect.

btw: you could have gotten your nose all out of joint and posted some really snarky stuff in response, but you didnt. For that, I commend you. You really are level headed, and if the rest of the world followed your example, we'd all be much better off

[Für Elise]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

a) your question is specious because DUH, the "homeland" belonged to the JEWS first! KEEP UP! Thus, the Jews only reclaimed their own again.

b) I know it isnt important to you, but it is vitally important to these peoples because it validates their reason for being. So, YES it DOES matter who had it first. IMO, it matters to all of us who has the legitimate claim.

c) While I am not a rabid hard line Christian Fundamentalist,(far from it in fact) I have made it a point to study the issues of the region of the Middle East. Ive done this for over 30 years. Realistically speaking, no progress has been made. and none will be made until the Arabs recognize the Jews and their right to their OWN homeland.


ok. let me just make myself plain. I think its a bad faith move for the Arabs to ask the Jews to surrender their own "Holy Land". The Arabs wouldnt do it, not in a million years. And to expect the Jews to do it is basically sticking a needle in their eye IMO. "OK, we'll stop warring on you, just give us back the other half of your holy city and we'll recognize you." If I was Israel, I'd say NO too.

ETA: I know I come on strong on this topic, and Im not trying to be nasty. really. I just feel that what the Arabs are asking of the Jews is an insult. Even tho I am not Jew and even tho I have no truck with organized Christianity, I still believe that the Muslims/Arabs are in the wrong. Again, JMO. (Im sure Fur Elise will have some sort of rejoinder, but meh, who cares?)

who cares? then who cares what anyone says just cause its not what you think. thats really insulting. and what else is insulting is being forced out of there own land. they were able to live together before they were told to leave is it a surprise that they dont react well to being moved out of there home and treated like prisoners? if the american indians took americans from there home and put them in fenced areas where they were treated like prisoner you all wouldn't be happy about it.

why raise an issue if you're just going to say who cares about anyone who says anything different. i think you act like you know what your talking about but you dont have any idea about the real situation.

[irishgrl]

i think you act like you know what your talking about but you dont have any idea about the real situation.

actually I do. My sympathies lie with the Jews/Israelis however, not the usurping Palestinians (Yes, you saw right!) It was the Jews' homeland FIRST and THEY were forced out. I for one am cheering them on in their efforts to reclaim it.

I'd like to see peace in that region as much as the next person. but not if it means the Jews would have to give up their ancestral holy city. still, I think markolas is right, I think this will potentially involve the whole world at some point.

[Für Elise]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

actually I do. My sympathies lie with the Jews/Israelis however, not the usurping Palestinians (Yes, you saw right!) It was the Jews' homeland FIRST and THEY were forced out. I for one am cheering them on in their efforts to reclaim it.

I'd like to see peace in that region as much as the next person. but not if it means the Jews would have to give up their ancestral holy city. still, I think markolas is right, I think this will potentially involve the whole world at some point.

I believe so too but I have very diferent beleifs about why the situation is as it is and where my sympathies lie. and I want to leave it there because we disagree and this subject affects me very personally and even discussing it on here can cause me to get upset and so if we can leave it at that but Id like to make a final requewst tha my views not be shrugged off with "who cares what fur elise thinks" as it fuels a very intense fire and I dont want to feel like that i dont want to be upset when I come to enjoy reading a website. obviosly you cna talk about current events but saying you dont care what I might think when it has a great affect on mentality just says to us that were worthless. i hope you can appreciate that aspect. i might be drawn back in but I hoep i can refrain for my own sake.

[irishgrl]

you know, you have a point. I apologise. I knew you'd disagree, and that was what I was trying to say, but I think out of respect for your feelings I will just close this thread.