Middle East News
Arab League sets terms for attending peace conference with Israel
Oct 11, 2007, 8:22 GMT
Cairo - Arab countries will need guarantees and a timetable for talks over a final solution to their conflict with Israel as a condition to their participation in an international peace conference to be sponsored by the United States, the Arab League chief said.
In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur Wednesday evening, the Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa said Arab countries were opposed to open-ended talks with Israel.
'This was our mistake in the 1990s. We will not repeat it,' Musa said.
Arab participation in the conference is conditional on Israel giving certain guarantees, Musa explained. An example of such guarantees would be a moratorium on building settlements, he said.
'The Israelis swallow things and never give,' Musa said. He further added that nothing has been offered so far, hence Arab reluctance to sit at the negotiation table with Israel.
Musa ruled out participation of the Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal just for the sake of a photo opportunity with his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
'Arab countries will need guarantees and a timetable for talks over a final solution to their conflict with Israel.'
You forgot to capitalize Final Solution.
Every time Israel makes a gesture the Palestinians just take advantage of it. Israel stops retaliating to missile attacks and in return the Palestinians lob even more. Israel moves out of the Gaza and the Palestinians move in, trash the area, and set up new locations for attacks. Israel opens a boarder so Palestinian workers can get jobs in Israel. Palestinians smuggle bombs across the border and blow up school busses, cafes, and other places where people gather, killing Muslims as well as Israelis.
So what guarantees are the Arab States looking for now? Perhaps a promise to lie down and die would satiate their appetite? Maybe not, they then would just being to slaughter each other, as they are doing right now in Gaza.
All the Arabs have to give is recognition of Israel as a soverign nation.
All Israel has to give is some land (theirs), preferably diminished to something indefensible.
I say to the Arabs---stick it!
Israeli participation in the conference should also be conditional on all the Arabs 'giving certain guarantees'.... An example of such guarantees would be no more terrorism.
'Craig
'Arab countries will need guarantees and a timetable for talks over a final solution to their conflict with Israel.'
You forgot to capitalize Final Solution.'
You beat me to it Craig.
page: 1
Mike HillOct 11th, 2007 - 14:01:08
What I read here is that the Arab spokesman has certain goals in mind for the negotiations. And he wants to make sure those goals are guaranteed before he agrees to negotiations. My 10 year old daughter employs similar techniques. She wins sometimes, too.
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