The Arab League’s New Peace Proposal – not so new or fair

– Zalman Shoval (Jerusalem Post)

Even a perfunctory examination of the “Arab Peace Initiative,” which the Arab League adopted on March 28, 2002, shows that it was no more than a list of take-it-or-leave-it demands requiring Israel to commit itself in advance to “full withdrawal from all territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights”; east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state; and the “right of return” of Arab refugees.

Future political historians will probably be frustrated when they attempt to unravel how the idea of “land swaps” between Israel and the Palestinians ever achieved traction. After all, this wasn’t what UN Security Council Resolution 242 had said about Israel’s future borders.

Resolution 242 never intended that Israel should return to the vulnerable pre-’67 cease-fire line. The UK’s Lord Caradon, the resolution’s co-author, said “it would have been wrong to demand that Israel return to its positions of 4 June 1967.”

On June 5, 1967, Jordanian artillery began to shell west Jerusalem and Jordanian soldiers occupied the UN observers headquarters. It was an unprovoked act of aggression against the State of Israel. Arthur Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to the UN and the resolution’s other co-author, said: “It is clear that Israel exercised the right of self-defense in the 1967 war.”
One may, therefore, be justified in asking why Israel should now be required to compensate the aggressor with land?

The author is a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.

May 21, 2013 | 8 Comments »

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8 Comments / 8 Comments

  1. Israel-Arab Peace Plan Principles

    Starting in 1948 from very first day of recreation of the State of Israel on the part of Israel territory, Arab countries waged several wars to eliminate Israel from her historic land. Israel won all wars and now Arab countries propose a peace agreement with Israel under conditions, which they intended to dictate. However, only Israel, who won all the wars and defeated Arab countries, has legal rights to formulate and dictate peace agreement terms and conditions, which, in general, shell include the following provisions:

    1. Palestinian muslims must compensate Jews for damages caused by Jews massacres (actually, it was Holocaust) conducted in Palestine in 1920s-1930s under British administration supervision, for providing Hitler with idea of Final Solution and for taking active part in implementing the idea in Europe.
    2. Arab countries must compensate Israel for damages inflicted on Israel during wars launched by Arab countries.
    3. Arab countries must compensate several million Jews expelled from Arab countries between 1948 and 1953, where they lived for centuries, for violation of international law and stealing Jewish properties.
    4. Arab countries must recognize “Article 24 of the 1964 PLO charter addressed to UN, which stipulates: Palestinian muslims do not claim Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza their territories” which gives Israel full legal rights to remove muslims from occupied Israel land of Palestine.
    5. Arab countries must comply with Geneva Convention, which recognizes Israel rights on Gaza, Judea and Samaria, historic Jewish land liberated by Israel in 1967 war from Jordan and Egypt occupation.
    6. Arab countries must recognize Jerusalem as historic Israel capital.
    7. Egypt and Jordan are obligated to relocate Palestinian muslims (their former citizens) from Gaza (Egypt), Judea and Samaria (Jordan) inside their territories within 1 (negotiable) year term.
    8. Arab countries have no right to develop or acquire WMD or weapon that can be used against Israel.

    If any Arab country denies this peace terms and conditions, Israel has full legal rights for preemptive strike against this country using all available military power. All islamofascism organizations operating on Israel territory occupied by palestinian muslims, such as PLO&Fatah (created after WWII on the principles of Hitler’s ideology and with close ties to Nazi party and SS), Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al Agsa Brigade, and Hezbullah must be totally, unconditionally, and immediately exterminated. All other palestinian muslims must be relocated from Israel to Jordan, country created by britain in 1922 on stolen Israel land (britain stole over 77% of Israel territory) specifically for palestinian muslims. As the past agreement made by british and french idiots with Hitler clearly shows that any agreements with those who preoccupied with idea of global Caliphate is suicidal, the only logical solution is preemptive, total, and merciless extermination of Palestinian islamofascism organizations.

  2. IL should annex J & S.
    Enough deception from East & West.
    The Pal false problem prevents the Muslims from moving from the middle age to the 21st century.

  3. Bernard Ross Said:

    yamit82 Said:
    Not that unusual.
    has Israel supplied the arabs before?

    Yes, Israel has supplied Morocco’s military with Israeli made armaments. Its the only Arab country in the Maghreb with which Israel has had on-going political and security contacts even though they have never had formal relations.

  4. @ Bernard Ross:

    Not that unusual. You should see what we are supplying to China through the backdoor. We are supplying under a three year contract drones to Russia amounting to almost a half billion dollars. Israel is either #3 or #4 in total military sales in the world and that’s without big ticket items like planes and tanks, and large ships.

  5. Mr. Shoval,

    You’re either a liar or have a foggy memory about history.

    In response to your rhetorical question, Israel gave back the Sinai to Egypt, gave Area A and B in Judea and Samaria to the PLO and gave parts of Israel to Jordan in its peace treaty. Then there of course is the Gaza pullout. Until quite recently too, Israeli officials offered to hand back in its entirety the Golan Heights to the murderous Assad regime in Syria. And the 2008 Olmert proposal offered to redivide Jerusalem.

    Can you sir, cite us ONE example in which Israel did NOT compensate the Arab aggressor with land? You can’t and as an ambassador and an adviser to the Prime Minister, it behooves on you not to mislead your readers about what Israel has NOT done!

    And your PM is on record as favoring compensating the Arab aggressor with more Jewish land for a 23rd Arab state in the heartland of Israel. Had Israel refused ANY territorial concessions to the Arabs, your article would have a great deal more credibility. It doesn’t.

  6. One may, therefore, be justified in asking why Israel should now be required to compensate the aggressor with land?

    Why because by doing so the aggressor will become magically transformed into a peace loving lamb filled with love for the Jew of course – don’t you know?

    I also have bridge in Brooklyn for sale for all those that can swallow this perverse proposition.