The Arab's meager 'offer' to Israel

NY Times:

...

“Incrementalism and the step-by-step approach have not, and we believe will not, achieve peace,” the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said after meeting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. “Temporary security, confidence-building measures, will also not bring peace.”

Mr. Mitchell, however, insisted he was getting a very different message in his private meetings with more than a dozen Arab leaders, including the Saudis. Many, he said, were ready to consider new measures.

He declined to discuss what kinds of steps, but other officials said the United States was pushing for a package of measures ranging from Arab countries’ opening commercial offices in Tel Aviv to their leaders’ granting interviews to Israeli journalists. Another step would be getting Arab nations to allow Israel’s state carrier, El Al, to fly over Arab countries to cut flight times to Asia.

...
Despite the obvious duplicity Mitchell is describing by Arab states, what he is asking of them is something they can take away in a minute if Israel responds to terrorist attacks from the Palestinians like Hamas. At that point there will be the typical whining of victimhood because Israel defended itself and they will pull back from the meager agreements outlined by Mitchell.

If Israel buys into this deal it needs to get some assurances from the parties that they will support Israel in the event Israel is attacked by Hamas or Hezballah or other terrorist organizations. If they would agree to work with Israel to suppress these attacks, there might be some room for an agreement. My guess is Mitchell has not even brought up the point. That he is afraid it will make the Arabs shy away from an agreement demonstrates just how uncommitted they are to peace with Israel.

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