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| By israelinsider staff March 22, 2007 |
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Senior Jerusalem officials reiterated their view that the Palestinian right of return is a non-negotiable issue, ahead of the Arab League Summit in Riyadh, Ynetnews reported Thursday.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expects that Saudi peace initiative will undergo major changes at the Arab League Summit, including the removal of the section about the right of return.
Officials in Jerusalem referred to the right of return as a "nonstarter demand," Ynetnews reported. They said as long as Arab nations demand the right of return for Palestinians, no progress will be made in the peace process.
Officials added that complicated issues, such as borders and Jerusalem, are open for negotiation.
Prime Minister Olmert said earlier in the month that Israel has said repeatedly "that the Saudi initiative is a matter that we treat seriously, and this is still our position. We hope that at the summit of Arab heads-of-state that will be held in Riyadh, the plan's positive elements will receive special emphasis, increasing the chances of negotiations between us and the Palestinian Authority."
The Saudi initiative of 2002 calls for Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders, including the Golan Heights, to recognize a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees. In exchange, the Arab countries would recognize Israel's existence, consider the Arab-Israeli conflict over, and establish relations with Israel.
The officials in Jerusalem said that Israel's refusal to talk with the new Hamas-led Palestinian unity government does not mean that the Saudi initiative is off the table. However, the officials did say that "one issue cannot progress without the other."
Over the course of the next week and a half representatives from the three of the four Quartet members -- the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States -- will visit Israel. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Director General Ban ki-Moon and German Chancellor and current EU President Angela Merkel are expected to meet with Israeli officials to discuss the new Palestinian government.
The Prime Minister is expected to notify the leaders that Israel will continue its boycott of the PA, including its non-Hamas members, and ask the Quartet to continue demanding that the Palestinians renounce violence, recognize Israel, and abide by all previously signed agreements. |
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