Ted Belman. I prefaced this article Netanyahu tries to turn Arab Peace Initiative on its head, posted on June 2/16, with:
“I am in the process of writing an article in which I suggest the same thing. Presently the API says that after Israel cuts a deal with the Palestinians then the Arab League will “consider” establishing normalized relations. But now the Arab League don’t want to wait for the recalcitrant Palestinians. Instead they want to secure a regional arrangement and will do so without Palestinian consent.
“If the Arab League agreed to different parameters than those demanded by the Palestinians, the Palestinian strategy would be greatly undercut.”
The murderous bombing attack by the ISIS organization against a Jordanian outpost at the junction of Jordan’s borders with Iraq and Syria reinforces Jordan’s new needs in dealing with the Palestinian problem. The closing of the borders with Syria and Iraq illustrates Jordan’s inability to agree to a hostile border with the Palestinians, hence the need to preserve the IDF as the friendly neighbor along the length of the Jordan River and not replace the IDF with Palestinian militias.
Against this background, it is necessary to appreciate the meeting held last week in Amman between King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas over the end-of-Ramadan Iftar dinner. After the expulsion of the Jordanian dignitaries from Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem by Palestinians several months ago, the King refused to see the Palestinian leader. According to Palestinian sources, King Abdullah told the Palestinian Authority head that Saudi Arabia wants to make changes in the Arab Initiative so that Israel could accept it, and that it is better for the Palestinians to agree and not oppose the action. According to these sources, Abu Mazen sought to learn the nature of these changes, but King Abdullah told him that things have not yet been agreed upon.
Later, Abu Mazen met with Saudi King Salman in Jeddah; from the silence after the meeting, it can be assumed that a similar dialogue took place.
The sources reported that after his return from his current European tour, Abu Mazen will convene the PLO institutions to brief them on the new situation, but the sources estimate that the Palestinians will be unable to agree to any change in the Initiative from the current version which demands withdrawal to 1967 borders and, in effect, fulfilling the Right of Return.
@ Bear Klein:
Inbari is very close with the PMO and with JCPA
@ Ted Belman:
Pinhas Inbari has a good reputation.
I happen to know the author and believe him though he didn’t quote a source. I will ask him for more detail.
no evidence for this statement…..
I am expecting an Israeli concession to abbas which will allow abbas to agree to open negotiations accepting no prior conditions OR accepting to negotiate on a revised arab peace plan likely to be more vague in its stipulations. I doubt that there will be a new arab plan which OVERTLY tells the pals to give more but rather a change to a vague parameter that could allow flexibiity in negotiations AND allow the GCC to make a move forward with Israel.. but what move who knows.
Let us remember that the arab plan called for all the muslim nations to make peace with Israel but they cannot even deliver all those arab nations in flux to a peace deal with Israel… Syria, libya, lebanon…
I wonder if there will be something that affects the syrian claim on the golan… perhaps even indirectly.
Meshal retirement could be related also, it may allow a change with hamas. Its getting close to abbas retirement too.