Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Israel weighs peace with all Muslims

Israel - Peace
Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem | May 13, 2009

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to explore the possibility of a comprehensive peace with the entire Muslim world, rather than just a narrow Israeli-Palestinian accord, when he has his first meeting with US President Barack Obama next week in Washington.

As reports surface this week that Arab leaders were looking to offer Israel a "57-state solution" involving peace with the entire Muslim world, Mr Netanyahu met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and said the Jewish people wanted "harmonious relations" with the Muslim world.

"Israel yearns to reach peace with its Palestinian neighbours and with all the Arab nations," he said.

"We all live in this region and we are all the sons of Abraham."

The much-anticipated meeting between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Obama is expected to lay down the first clear marker on the direction of the Middle East peace process in the coming years.

Mr Obama has strongly indicated his intention to pursue the process vigorously and not to let it wither, as it has in recent years. He has also spoken approvingly of the Saudi-initiated Arab Peace Plan, which calls for Israel's withdrawal to the pre-Six Day War borders in return for peace with the Arab world, although he has not specifically endorsed all its provisions.

Mr Netanyahu has until now rejected several of its key provisions, including withdrawal from the Golan Heights, the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem. It is not clear how the two leaders will propose resolving these issues.

The London-based Arabic-language daily al-Quds al-Arabi reported last week that at Mr Obama's request, the Arab League was in the process of revising the peace plan to make it more amenable to Israel.

The revisions would reportedly stipulate that a future Palestinian state be demilitarised and, in a major concession, the Palestinians would forfeit the right of refugees to return to Israel proper.

Instead, some of the refugees would be resettled in the Palestinian state to be established on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the rest would be absorbed in the Arab states where they are now dwelling.

Such changes would go a long way to softening Israeli reservations about the plan, but Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mussa denied the report yesterday, saying there would be "no sweetening" of the plan for Israel.

In an interview with The Times of London, Jordan's King Abdullah said the entire Muslim world, from Morocco to Indonesia, would recognise the Jewish state if it accepted the Arab peace plan.

"We are offering a third of the world to meet them with open arms," said the monarch, whose late father, King Hussein, signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1994. King Abdullah warned, however, that there could be another war within 18 months if Israel rejected the peace initiative.

Since the Oslo accords 15 years ago in which Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, headed by Yasser Arafat, began a fitful peace process, it has led only to dead-ends. Whether a regional approach can overcome this deadlock is a major question.

Mr Netanyahu's recent election appeared to mean a retreat from even the theoretical possibility of peace with the Palestinians because of his outright rejection of a two-state solution, in which an independent Palestinian state would exist alongside Israel. Instead, he suggested building up the Palestinian economy and its institutions to the point of self-government but not sovereignty.

It is considered possible, perhaps likely, that he will feel obliged in his meeting with Mr Obama to shift his position.

"He will have to clearly accept the two-state principle and commit himself to the civic, economic and security development of the Palestinian Authority," wrote analyst Gidi Grinstein in Ha'aretz yesterday.

Source: The Australian




Blog Archive


FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed

Followers

Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved. E-mail: info AT ReformIslam.org
Stop Honorcide!



Latest Recipients of
The Dhimmi Award
Dr. Phil
George Casey


The Dhimmi Award


Previous Recipients of
The Dhimmi Award




Latest Recipient of the
World-Class Hypocrite Award
Mainstream Media


World-Class Hypocrite Award


Previous Recipients of the
World-Class Hypocrite Award




Latest Recipient of the
MASH Award
Dr. Arash Hejazi


MASH Award


Previous Recipients of the
MASH Award




Latest Recipient of the
Yellow Rag Award
CNN


Yellow Rag Award


Previous Recipients of the
Yellow Rag Award




Latest Recipient of
The Face of Evil Award
Nidal Malik Hasan


The Face of Evil Award


Previous Recipients of
The Face of Evil Award




Latest Recipients of the
Distinguished Islamofascist Award
ADC, CAIR, MAS


Distinguished Islamofascist Award


Previous Recipients of the
Distinguished Islamofascist Award




Latest Recipient of the
Goebbels-Warner Award
ISNA


Goebbels-Warner Award


Previous Recipients of the
Goebbels-Warner Award




Muslm Mafia



Latest Recipient of the
Evil Dumbass Award
Somali Pirates


Evil Dumbass Award


Previous Recipients of the
Evil Dumbass Award




Insane P.I. Bill Warner
Learn about
Anti-MASH
Defamation Campaign

by Internet Thugs




Latest Recipient of the
Retarded Rabbi Award
Shmuley Boteach


Retarded Rabbi Award


Previous Recipients of the
Retarded Rabbi Award




Latest Recipient of the
Mad Mullah Award
Omar Bakri Muhammed


Mad Mullah Award


Previous Recipients of the
Mad Mullah Award




Stop Sharia Now!
ACT! For America




Latest Recipient of the
Demented Priest Award
Desmond Tutu


Demented Priest Award


Previous Recipients of the
Demented Priest Award




Egyptian Gaza Initiative

Egyptian Gaza




Note: majority of users who have posting privileges on MASH blog are not MASH members. Comments are slightly moderated. MASH does not necessarily endorse every opinion posted on this blog.



HONORARY MEMBERS
of

Muslims Against Sharia
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Hasan Mahmud

ANTI-FASCISTS of ISLAM
Prominent.Moderate.Muslims
Tewfik Allal
Ali Alyami & Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
Zeyno Baran
Brigitte Bardet
Dr. Suliman Bashear
British Muslims
for Secular Democracy

Center for Islamic Pluralism
Tarek Fatah
Farid Ghadry &
Reform Party of Syria

Dr. Tawfik Hamid
Jamal Hasan
Tarek Heggy
Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser &
American Islamic
Forum for Democracy

Sheikh Muhammed Hisham
Kabbani & Islamic
Supreme Council of America

Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh
Nibras Kazimi
Naser Khader &
The Association
of Democratic Muslims

Mufti Muhammedgali Khuzin
Shiraz Maher
Irshad Manji
Salim Mansur
Maajid Nawaz
Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi
& Cultural Institute of the
Italian Islamic Community and
the Italian Muslim Assembly

Arifur Rahman
Raheel Raza
Imad Sa'ad
Secular Islam Summit
Mohamed Sifaoui
Mahmoud Mohamed Taha
Amir Taheri
Ghows Zalmay
Supna Zaidi &
Islamist Watch /
Muslim World Today /
Council For Democracy And Tolerance
Prominent ex-Muslims
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Magdi Allam
Zachariah Anani
Nonie Darwish
Abul Kasem
Hossain Salahuddin
Kamal Saleem
Walid Shoebat
Ali Sina & Faith Freedom
Dr. Wafa Sultan
Ibn Warraq

Defend Freedom of Speech

ISLAMIC FASCISTS
Islamists claiming to be Moderates
American Islamic Group
American Muslim Alliance
American Muslim Council
Al Hedayah Islamic Center (TX)
BestMuslimSites.com
Canadian Islamic Congress
Canadian Muslim Union
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Dar Elsalam Islamic Center (TX)
DFW Islamic Educational Center, Inc. (TX)
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (Closed)
Ed Husain & Quilliam Foundation
Islamic Association for Palestine (Closed)
Islamic Association of Tarrant County (TX)
Islamic Center of Charlotte (NC) & Jibril Hough
Islamic Center of Irving (TX)
Islamic Circle of North America
Islamic Cultural Workshop
Islamic Society of Arlington (TX)
Islamic Society of North America
Masjid At-Taqwa
Muqtedar Khan
Muslim American Society
Muslim American Society of Dallas (TX)
Muslim Arab Youth Association (Closed)
Muslim Council of Britain
Muslims for Progressive Values
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Muslim Public Affairs Council (UK)
Muslim Students Association
National Association of Muslim Women
Yusuf al Qaradawi
Wikio - Top Blogs