Arab summit ends with ‘message of peace’
Ynetnews/Associated Press/March 29/17
The Arab summit reachs its conclusion on Wednesday, and after Jordan’s Kin Abdullah II blames Israel for the stalled peace process, US Pres. Trump is given the message that any agreement must include an independent Palestinian state.
Arab leaders on Wednesday endorsed key Palestinian positions in the conflict with Israel—a signal to President Donald Trump that a deal on Palestinian statehood must precede any Israeli-Arab normalization.
In a one-day summit, they relaunched a peace plan that offers Israel normalization with Arab and Muslim states, provided it cedes lands it captured in 1967 to a future Palestinian state. A closing statement said that “peace is a strategic option” for Arab states. “The summit has ended with a message of peace,” said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
The Arab peace plan was first launched in 2002. Its renewed endorsement Wednesday would undercut Israel’s proposal of a regional peace in which normalization with some Arab countries would precede a deal with the Palestinians.
The Palestinian quest for independence also served as a showcase for Arab unity in a fractured region, where leaders find themselves on opposite sides of long-running conflicts, particularly Syria’s six-year-old civil war.
The 21 kings, presidents and top officials gathered on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea, with a clear view of the West Bank on the opposite shore.
Despite demands for urgent political reform to tackle the region’s challenges, including high unemployment and widespread gender inequality, the optics of the summit signaled business as usual. The leaders around the conference table were all men, most of them elderly.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was absent—he hasn’t been invited since Syria’s suspension from the 22-member Arab League following his crackdown on a 2011 uprising that quickly turned into a brutal civil war.
The gathering came ahead of White House meetings in coming weeks between Trump and three Arab leaders—Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Trump hasn’t yet formulated a policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but has suggested the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution isn’t the only option on the table. His international envoy, Jason Greenblatt, held meetings with Abbas and the foreign ministers of Qatar and Egypt on the sidelines of the summit.
The Palestinians want to set up a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
Abbas told Arab leaders Wednesday that the summit resolutions will “send a clear message to the world” of a united Arab stance.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not formally abandoned his stated support for the two-state solution, but has stopped mentioning it in his speeches since Trump was elected. Instead, he has made vague statements about seeking a region-wide agreement.
Netanyahu frequently boasts of strong behind-the-scenes alliances with unidentified Arab countries.
In a speech this week to AIPAC, the pro-Israel American lobby group, Netanyahu once again alluded to a region-wide approach, saying that “common dangers faced by Israel and many of our Arab neighbors now offer a rare opportunity to build bridges toward a better future.”
The summit’s final statement urged countries around the world not to move their diplomatic missions in Israel to contested Jerusalem, a signal to Trump who said in the past he would relocate the US Embassy in Israel to the holy city.
Jordan’s king told the summit’s opening session that there can be no peace or stability in the region without setting up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Jordan has a large Palestinian population and also serves as custodian of a major Muslim-run shrine in Jerusalem that is also Judaism’s holiest site.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, has been a scene of frequent Israeli-Palestinian tensions, including clashes.
Palestinians fear Israel wants to divide it, a charge Israel denies. Jordan’s monarch said “we will continue to fight any attempts to change the status quo” at the site.
The Egyptian president and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman slipped out of the summit session for face-to-face talks, signaling an attempt at possible reconciliation.
A photo handout by the Egyptian delegation showed the two leaders sitting next to each other in white cushion chairs.
Relations between the two countries have been tense in recent months. Saudi Arabia is a leading supporter of the Syrian opposition, while Egypt, fearful of Islamic militants among the rebels’ ranks, has pushed for a political solution that might keep Assad in power.
All 15 Arab Summit resolutions blast Iran
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 29, 2017
All 15 resolutions passed by the Arab summit which took place in Jordan Wednesday, March 29, were devoted to an indictment of Iran, its Revolutionary Guards Corps and Lebanese surrogate, Hizballah. They were a testament to the depth of Arab-Iranian animosity and exposed the extent of the rift between the Sunni and Shiite Muslim worlds.
Iran was accused of meddling in the internal affairs of Arab nations, inciting Shiites against Sunnis, and arming and training Shiite terrorist groups for operations against legitimate Arab governments. The Arab rulers combined to put Tehran in the dock for its interference in the Syrian civil war and assault on its sovereignty.
None of the formal resolutions addressed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As DEBKAfile reported earlier, this issue is the subject of active exchanges between the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. King Abdullah of Jordan, who hosted the summit and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi will travel to Washington to report to President Donald Trump on the private discussions on this issue at the session and launch the next stage of the Arab-Israeli peace initiative.
DEBKAfile lists the 15 resolutions submitted to the Arab summit.
1: Good neighborly relations should prevail between Iran and Arab countries and Iran’s meddling in the affairs of Arab countries condemned as a threat to the security and stability of the region.
2: The Islamic Republic of Iran should assume responsibility for an attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad and abide by the laws of diplomacy.
3: The Iranian government must tell its officials to desist from hostile, inflammatory remarks against Arab countries.
4: Iran must stop fomenting sectarian rivalries and withdraw support from groups who destabilize the Gulf countries and armed groups inside Arab countries.
5: Iran’s invasion of three Emirate islands (Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs) is condemned. They must be restored to lawful ownership by peaceful means.
6: Iran must stop supporting and training terrorists and sending arms and ammunition to rebel groups fighting the Bahrain government.
7: Bahraini security agencies win praise for foiling a terrorist plot in December 2016 supported by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and terrorist Hizballah.
8: Iran’s nefarious meddling in the Syrian crisis has threatened its sovereignty, future stability, security and unity.
9: Iranian meddling in Yemen’s affairs by backing forces fighting the legitimate government negatively affects the security of the country, its neighbors and the wider region.
10: The importance of the initiative taken by the Assistance Council of the Arab Gulf Countries is underlined and calls for a positive response from Iran
11: Iran must be bound to compliance with Security Council Resolution 2231 of 2015 and penalized swiftly with effective sanctions for any violations. Iran must be held to its commitments under the nuclear and regional environment treaties.
12: The Secretary General is entrusted with managing the commission of four Arab foreign ministers set up to thwart Iranian interference in Arab affairs.
13: Arabic assistance forums with countries, regional, and international groups will highlight the ill effects of Iranian meddling in their affairs.
14: This issue will be placed on the UN agenda under Section 2 of Article 7
15: The Arab League Secretary General will monitor the implementation of these resolutions and report on progress to the next Arab summit.
