will the saudi plan achieve peace in the middle east?

[musika man]

so far, the israelis have recieved it positively, and olmert says he will discuss it with the king of saudi arabia and other arab leaders. or, are they trying to isolate iran, hamas and hezboullah? can the saudi plan achieve peace?

What is in the Saudi peace initiative?

A Middle East peace initiative floated by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah in 2002 is being revived at the Arab League Summit in Algiers despite that fact that it was rejected by Israel three years ago.

The plan:

The basic outline or principles of the Saudi plan are known, but the detail is vague. The main points are:

Israel is required to withdraw from all territories seized in 1967 - the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
In return, all Arab states offer normal diplomatic relations - including a peace deal that recognises Israel's right to exist and secures its borders.

The plan was formally announced at an Arab League summit in Beirut in March 2003. Other details are far less firm, but can be gleaned from an interview given to the New York Times newspaper by Crown Prince Abdullah:

Reports suggest that the Saudi plan allows for Israeli sovereignty over the Western or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem - one of Judaism's holiest sites.
The same reports suggest that the plan allows for the transfer of some areas of the West Bank to Israel in return for equivalent transfers to a Palestinian sate.

It is also suggested that the issue of the right of return for Palestinian refugees to Israel has been dropped or sidestepped. This issue is crucial because many Israelis see the Palestinian claim to the right of return as a fundamental demographic threat to the idea of Israel as a state for Jewish people.

At present the only Arab governments that recognise Israel are the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan. The idea that all Arab states might offer Israel normal relations and recognise it as a state in the region is the most striking element in the Saudi proposal.

The problems:

From the Israeli point of view, the plan as it stands has certain problems. The crucial sticking points may be:

Giving up all of the Golan Heights
A Palestinian political and administrative presence in Jerusalem
The dismantling of all Israeli settlements in Golan, West Bank and Gaza
The potential problem of the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 844214.stm

[Hard-Rock]

The two crises in middle east are Palestine & Wahabism. Saudis are one of the issues they can not bring peace to middle east. They need to first eradicate the Wahabism sector that causing damage all over the world. The Solution to Palestine lies with the rest of the World. If they stop the supplies to Israel or if they give equal supplies to Palestine then Israel will be forced to negotiate and leave the occupied territories. Israel will never agree to even two state solution, they lip sing because they know the territories they are offering Palestines are joke!

[musika man]

[quote="Hard-Rock"]The two crises in middle east are Palestine & Wahabism. Saudis are one of the issues they can not bring peace to middle east. They need to first eradicate the Wahabism sector that causing damage all over the world. The Solution to Palestine lies with the rest of the World. If they stop the supplies to Israel or if they give equal supplies to Palestine then Israel will be forced to negotiate and leave the occupied territories. Israel will never agree to even two state solution, they lip sing because they know the territories they are offering Palestines are joke![/quote]

^^^

good and stupid points. most of the wahabis in saudi arabia are peaceful and are pasified to the point where they believe you cannot fight your leader. ask salahudiin, he believes in osama violent politics. the number one problem in the middle east is palestine, and no one will give them arsenal to fight israel. without hypotheticals, i think the point of this peace plan if accepted is to weaken iran and it's influnces on hezbollah and hamas.

[Steeler [Crawler2]]

Addressing some of these contentious points:

"Giving up all of the Golan Heights"
This is an issue, obviously. Has two components. One is security, because it is such a commanding position overlooking Israel. It would have to be demiterialized. The Second is water. The Golan is a large water source for the Levant. Some sort of water sharing agreement would have to be reached.

"A Palestinian political and administrative presence in Jerusalem"
This is a minor sticking point. At this point in the game, the Jews know they can not hold on to East Jerusalum.

"The dismantling of all Israeli settlements in Golan, West Bank and Gaza"
There are four large settlements where this is not feasible. They all sit right on the Israeli border. I think this is a negotiable for both sides. The Israelis say they will give up all but the four, which they will incorporate into Israel. The Palestinians get a buy out and possibly some compensation land in the Negev. All the other settlements the residents can be part of a Palestinians state and remain, or sell their property to Palestinians who remain for whtever price the market supports.

"The potential problem of the right of return for Palestinian refugees."
This is a red line issue. Obviously, bringing a large number of Palestinians into Israel is a Trojan Horse, and the Israelis know it. Furthermore, what do you do with claims from 1948? The only solution to this at this late point is compensation for valid claims and an integration of Palestinians into the West Bank or Gaza.

Another issue not really being addressed is this: The Water basin of the region can not support the population there. The people there have got to control their population growth, or nature will do it for them. This inevitably leads to conflict between the parties, because both will be competing for the same water resources.