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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
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| By Israel Insider staff August 1, 2007 |
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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice endorsed the 2002 Arab peace initiative as part of the foundation for Mideast peace, signing a joint statement with Egypt, Jordan and six Gulf states. However Rice's endorsement does not indicate that the US intends to implement the entire agreement.
The initiative calls on Israel to end the occupation of the territory it won in the 1967 war in exchange for normalized relations with the Arab world.
First, the word "foundation" does not necessitate strict adherence, rather that the agreement will be taken into consideration. Second, ending the occupation allows for several interpretations, one of which being that certain parts of the territory would remain in Israeli control and no long be considered occupied, as the internet news agency IMRA noted.
The egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheti, pushed for the creation of a Palestinian state to be paramount on the agenda for the US Mideast peace conference slated for the fall.
"I believe that what is needed is accelerated moves in order to reach the horizon of that [Palestinian] state, and an agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority," Aboul Gheit said.
In related news, Saudi Arabia agreed to attend the conference, a breakthrough for Israel and Saudi Arabia, who have no diplomatic relations.
"When we get an invitation from the minister (Rice) to attend, when this takes place, we will discuss it and we will make sure that we attend" the conference, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said.
President Bush called for the conference to advance negotiations that will lead to viable solutions to conflicts in the region.
The Saudis also agreed to resume diplomatic relations with Iraq and work to prevent terrorism and unrest in the country. US officials have condemned Saudi Arabia for undermining the US in Iraq by funding Sunni insurgents allowing suicide bombers to cross their border.
?We expressed our hope (to Rice) that we will work closely with Iraq regarding security aspects, especially terrorism,? the Saudi foreign minister said.
Rice, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in answer to forthright concerns from Arab leaders afraid of instability, assured the Gulf nations that the US would not allow an abrupt withdrawal from Iraq.
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