Why the Arab Peace Initiative Can’t Bring Peace

In a recent speech, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has suggested reviving the long-moribund peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia in conjunction with other Arab states. That 2002 initiative, however, includes an unrestricted right of return to Israel for all 1948 Arab refugees as well as their descendants. Nor does it allow for adjustments of the pre-1967 lines to accommodate Israel's security or the longstanding Jewish communities on the West Bank, even though such adjustments have been confirmed by UN resolution and in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. But the real problem, writes Zalman Shoval, is the lack of interest in peace on the part of Palestinian leadership: