Efforts to revitalize the peace process in the Middle East

The Arab Peace Initiative is an initiative launched by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz - may God have mercy on him - for peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians. Its goal is the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, the return of refugees, and withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights, in exchange for recognition and normalization of relations between Arab countries with Israel. .

Over the past three months, many press and research reports and opinion articles have been published by American, Western and Israeli elites, in addition to seminars, television interviews, etc., regarding the imminent normalization of relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel. I claim to have monitored and seen a large number of them, but it is important to This momentum continued to provide a reading of the Saudi vision regarding promoting peace at the regional level, which stems from the Arab Peace Initiative.

Just as a reminder, the Arab Peace Initiative is an initiative launched by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz - may God have mercy on him - for peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians. Its goal is the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, the return of refugees, and withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights, in exchange for recognition and normalization of relations between Arab countries with Israel. It was in 2002, and the initiative was announced at the Arab Summit in Beirut. It gained Arab and international support.

Why talk about the topic today? While I was in New York, and on the sidelines of the work of the United Nations General Assembly in its 78th session, there was an important ministerial meeting to discuss efforts to revitalize the peace process in the Middle East, headed by Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi Foreign Minister, along with the Secretary-General. The League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs of Jordan Ayman Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Sameh Shoukry, and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

The meeting witnessed the presence of representatives of about 70 countries and international organizations, and about 50 speakers from various countries of the world, where mechanisms for contributing to the coordination of joint efforts to advance the peace process in the Middle East were discussed, and the formation of political, economic, and humanitarian work teams to discuss practical steps and incentives that encourage the revival of the peace process. Arabic peace.

When mentioning the Arab peace process in the Middle East, I am always surrounded by a number of questions from friends, such as: Will there be normalization between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, and Israel at the expense of the Palestinians? What if Saudi Arabia yields to the American side that is enthusiastic about normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel with the approaching US presidential elections of 2024, more than normalization between the Palestinians and Israelis? And what is the region’s view for peace in the next stage? Asking such questions is positive in terms of exploring the Saudi political logic for dealing with... This is a complex file.

Aside from the exaggerations of the American and Israeli press regarding the issue of normalization between the Kingdom and Israel, we must first know that the peace process between the Palestinian and Israeli sides has been stalled since April 2014. As a result of Israel's refusal to stop settlement activity and release former prisoners, in addition to its disavowal of the principle of a two-state solution (Palestinian and Israeli). In fact, our Saudi Foreign Minister was clear in this meeting that its organization aimed to re-talk about the two-state solution, in light of the Israeli escalation in the Palestinian territories. Rather, he was clearer when he said: “People are beginning to lose hope in the two-state solution, and we want to Efforts are being made to bring the peace process back to the forefront, as there is no way to resolve the conflict except by ensuring the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.”

If we understand the context of the comments of our Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, we will reach Riyadh’s vision of peace with Israel, as normalization is never free with it. Saudi Arabia is able to achieve a breakthrough in the peace process through Washington, and begin the first step in implementing the provisions of the Arab Peace Initiative, and giving... Palestinians have their legitimate rights.

I take your memories back to the sixth of last August, in the joint press conference of the Saudi Foreign Ministers and his American counterpart, and what concerns us as Saudis and Arabs are the statements of Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who said, “Without peace with the Palestinians, any normalization with Israel will have limited benefit, and we must also focus on "We want to reach a path that provides peace, justice, and dignity for the Palestinians, and I believe that the United States has the same direction, and it is crucial that we continue these efforts."