In sum it calls for:
- Israel to give up the lands it occupied in 1967: "including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon."
- In return the "Arab countries" will consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended and enter into a peace agreement with Israel.
That sort of deal hasn't worked out too well for Israel in the past; witness Gaza.
How can the Saudis control the "Arabs countries", let alone factions like Hamas, who did not buy into the initiative? Al-Faisal says that the Hamas Charter is "outdated". No-one told Hamas that, who continue to refuse to renounce it. The Charter calls not just for the destruction of Israel, but of Jews everywhere.
And then there's the non-Arabs like Iran. They also want Israel wiped off the map. Why would Israel give up their only bargaining chip for such vague, uncertain, and almost certainly undeliverable promises?
If the US is to support this 2002 initiative, it can only be with more certainty, such as renouncing of right of return, and de-militarisation of any lands given back, under control of some group with more clout than the UN. Who's to do that?
By the way, al-Faisal says ".... the kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] holds itself to higher standards of justice and law." This is the country whose Basic Law states that the Saudi Constitution is "Allah's Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet". This hews to the draconian Hanbali school of jurisprudence which mandates, inter alia: beheadings, amputations, killing of apostates, killing of homosexuals, 100% non-freedom of religion, stoning of women for adultry, jailing women who have been raped, supporting Wahabi mosques and schools around the world teaching killing of infidels, and so on and so on.... "Higher standards of justice and law" indeed...
The original IHT article, as long as it remains online is here .
By the way, al-Faisal says ".... the kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] holds itself to higher standards of justice and law." This is the country whose Basic Law states that the Saudi Constitution is "Allah's Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet". This hews to the draconian Hanbali school of jurisprudence which mandates, inter alia: beheadings, amputations, killing of apostates, killing of homosexuals, 100% non-freedom of religion, stoning of women for adultry, jailing women who have been raped, supporting Wahabi mosques and schools around the world teaching killing of infidels, and so on and so on.... "Higher standards of justice and law" indeed...
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References:The original IHT article, as long as it remains online is here .
Otherwise, it should still be at my link here .
