Saudis cautious on plans for Middle East conference with Israel

Saudi Arabia have said that they would be interested in attending a peace conference with Israel as long as it dealt with "the substantive matters of peace, the issues of real substance and not form or insubstantive issues".

In other words they are not up for attending another of Olmert's non-meetings where the only matter on the table for discussion is "Palestinian terrorism".

He added if that were the case "it becomes of great interest for Saudi Arabia and should we then get an invitation from the Secretary [Rice] to attend that conference we will look very closely and very hard at attending the conference."

Saudi Arabia, and other members of the Arab League, which met in Cairo on Monday, do not want to attend a Middle East conference that would be little more than a photo opportunity for the Israelis. They say any such meeting must be based on the Arab land-for-peace formula, calling for Israel to return to its 1967 borders. They also say the talks should not be limited to the Palestinian conflict but should also cover Israel's occupation of Syrian land.

This is a very important sign that Saudi Arabia might consider attending, but the caveats that the Saudis are insisting upon are also important. The Israelis need to show that they are serious about handing back land that they have illegally occupied for forty years, all the while building on that land - and moving it's civilian population on to that land - despite continued UN resolutions demanding that it desist from doing so, and in defiance of international law.

Of course the Saudis have already come up with their own peace initiative for resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, an initiative that the Israelis were at pains to influence, although the Saudis refused to bend to Israeli pressure.

I notice in today's Ha'aretz newspaper that the possibility of the Saudi's attending is being put down to the recent offer of an arms deal from the US, as if the Saudi Peace initiative did not exist.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal announced Riyadh's willingness to consider attending at a press conference with Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates prior to the former's departure for Israel.

"When we get an invitation from the minister [Rice] to attend, when this takes place, we will study it and we will be keen to attend," he said.

However, he stressed, "we are interested in the peace conference, one that deals with the heart of the peace process, the issues of peace, the core issues, not one that is just a podium for meetings and talk that do not enrich peace." Without guarantees that the conference will address these issues, therefore, Saudi delegates are unlikely to attend.

The Saudis are keen to attend as long as Israel is serious about wanting to talk about substantive issues that lead to peace in the region. Olmert is already signalling that he is preparing to play the same old game:

Olmert also used his meeting with Rice to detail the gestures that Israel has made to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently. However, he said, it is too soon to speak about transferring parts of the West Bank to PA security control; such a step would first require increased security cooperation and reduced terrorism.

I wonder how such a logic would play out in any other occupation. For instance, I wonder if the Americans would dare say that they would not end their occupation of Iraq until all resistance to that occupation ended? Were they to do so the Americans would simply be guaranteeing their presence in Iraq for a very long time. Indeed, the British used such tactics when they were attempting to hold on to India. And now, Olmert repeats the tactic, ignoring the fact that the occupation and the violence are directly linked and that one fuels the other.

The prime minister added that Hamas must be "kept out of the game" as Israel explores new cooperation with the Palestinians.

And, showing the perfect example of the new "democracy" that the US is keen to export to the region, the Israelis are stating that they will negotiate only with the people that the Palestinians did not choose as their democratic representatives.

Livni spelled it out:

"There is a Palestinian government which meets the requirements of the international community, a government that believes in the vision of the two states, a government that shows determination to change the situation, and Israel is not going to miss this opportunity," she said.

Of course, when Livni speaks of "the international community" she is using a code which roughly translates as "the US and Israel".

She continued:

Nevertheless, she added, any progress will be conditional on the PA's ability to control the territory and fulfill its security obligations.

In other words, end any violence caused by the occupation before we can even consider ending the occupation itself. Cart. Horse. Horse. Cart.

The Saudis are right to be cautious, as judging by what the Israelis are saying so far, it's same old... same old...

Click title for full article.

Tags: Saudi Arabia, Israel, Saudi Peace Plan, Palestine, Rice, Olmert