debkafile: Thirteen Arab League foreign ministers line up with radical bloc on talks with Israel

Saudi foreign minister Saud al Faisal announced at the end of their Cairo meeting on April 18 that three teams will explain to world governments the plan’s importance and lobby for its implementation. The fourth team will hold talks with Israel. debkafile adds: This is no breakthrough. The team charged with discussing the Saudi plan with Israel is restricted to Egypt and Jordan, which are in any case in regular official contact with the Israeli government. This restriction bows to the Palestinian unity government’s demand to keep Arab governments which bar recognition from Israel out of contact with the Jewish state, lest this be interpreted as recognition. It also enabled Syria at the head of the radical bloc make the meeting’s decisions unanimous.
The Saudi plan stipulates Israel’s withdrawal to the pre-1967 boundaries, acceptance of Jerusalem as capital of the future Palestinian state and acceptance of the Palestinian refugees’ “right of return.”
Arab League secretary Amr Mussa repeated Wednesday his objections in principle to any Arab negotiations with Israel. “Israel must first demonstrate a fundamental change in its policy towards the Palestinians,” he said.
In these circumstances, even if Israel accepts an invitation to join these narrow-based talks – presumably in Cairo or Sharm e-Sheikh – they will only produce condemnation for its refusal to accept the Saudi peace plan wholesale and unconditionally.