Here’s a deliciously ironic headline from the Islamic Republic News Agency:
Arab leaders warn Israel over belligerency
Because nothing shows your disdain for belligerency than..being belligerent.
But it gets better. Or should I say worse:
Arab leaders said that Israel is sabotaging the Middle East peace process and warned they could withdraw their landmark offer of peace with Israel in exchange for a return of Arab lands, unless Israel explicitly accepts the initiative.
Don’t do us any favors.
The warnings reflect increasing Arab impatience with the long-stalled peace process with Israel.
Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have bogged down since they were relaunched at the US-sponsored Annapolis peace conference last November after a seven-year hiatus.
Well, they are almost correct here. The failure of peace negotiations can be connected to the word “relaunched.” But the words “Qassams” and “mortar shells” are strangely absent.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal – whose country sponsored the Arab peace initiative, adopted by Arab nations in 2002 – warned Thursday that “despair would force us to review these options” including withdrawing the proposal.
I wonder what the other “options” are.
He accused Israel of “sabotaging” the initiative.
Because after all, everyone knows we use special “mind control” powers to force palestinians to commit terrorist acts against innocent people.
The Arab plan calls for complete withdrawal from the lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, and establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Quds as its capital.
It also calls for Palestinian refugees’ right of return to their homes in Israel to be addressed.
Israel has lingered on full withdrawal called for in the plan.
Go figure.
Arab leaders are to hold a summit in March in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at which they are expected to reiterate their adherence to the peace plan. But ahead of the gathering, they have stepped up their warnings it could be rescinded.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been marred by ongoing Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Quds, areas the Palestinians want for their future state.
Yep. That’s what keeps marring peace talks.
Saud, whose country is a close US ally, blamed Israel during a gathering of South American-Arab foreign ministers in Argentina on Thursday.
“It’s unbelievable that we keep blaming the weak party in the equation, which is the Palestinian people, with all the suffering they live under, while ignoring what Israel does by expanding settlements, tightening the siege, humiliating the Palestinians and carrying out a mass punishment against them,” al-Faisal said.
Actually, what is unbelievable is that there are people that buy in to this bovine excrement.
If you really want to understand the Arab’s sincerity for peace with Israel (as well as their strategy), you’d be better off looking back at another summit that occurred right after the Six Day War in Khartoum, Sudan, and ended with the following resolutions:
1. The conference has affirmed the unity of Arab ranks, the unity of joint action and the need for coordination and for the elimination of all differences. The Kings, Presidents and representatives of the other Arab Heads of State at the conference have affirmed their countries’ stand by and implementation of the Arab Solidarity Charter which was signed at the third Arab summit conference in Casablanca.
2. The conference has agreed on the need to consolidate all efforts to eliminate the effects of the aggression on the basis that the occupied lands are Arab lands and that the burden of regaining these lands falls on all the Arab States.
3. The Arab Heads of State have agreed to unite their political efforts at the international and diplomatic level to eliminate the effects of the aggression and to ensure the withdrawal of the aggressive Israeli forces from the Arab lands which have been occupied since the aggression of June 5. This will be done within the framework of the main principles by which the Arab States abide, namely, no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it, and insistence on the rights of the Palestinian people in their own country.
4. The conference of Arab Ministers of Finance, Economy and Oil recommended that suspension of oil pumping be used as a weapon in the battle. However, after thoroughly studying the matter, the summit conference has come to the conclusion that the oil pumping can itself be used as a positive weapon, since oil is an Arab resource which can be used to strengthen the economy of the Arab States directly affected by the aggression, so that these States will be able to stand firm in the battle. The conference has, therefore, decided to resume the pumping of oil, since oil is a positive Arab resource that can be used in the service of Arab goals. It can contribute to the efforts to enable those Arab States which were exposed to the aggression and thereby lost economic resources to stand firm and eliminate the effects of the aggression. The oil-producing States have, in fact, participated in the efforts to enable the States affected by the aggression to stand firm in the face of any economic pressure.
5. The participants in the conference have approved the plan proposed by Kuwait to set up an Arab Economic and Social Development Fund on the basis of the recommendation of the Baghdad conference of Arab Ministers of Finance, Economy and Oil.
6. The participants have agreed on the need to adopt the necessary measures to strengthen military preparation to face all eventualities.
7. The conference has decided to expedite the elimination of foreign bases in the Arab States.”
