Will President Obama give New Life to the Arab Peace Initiative?

President Barak Obama is launching a diplomatic effort based around the old Arab Peace Initiative. The Arab Peace Initiative (API) is a product of the Arab League and was first proposed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. It was first put forward at the Arab League summit meeting held in Beirut in 2002.

There was opposition to the API immediately after it was proposed. While the Palestinian Authority supported it, Hamas was opposed. Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood is opposed to all peace initiatives because the oppose the existence of the state of Israel. They prefer instead to conquer the Israeli government by force of arms. So on March 27, 2002, Hamas launched a suicide bombing referred to as the Passover Massacre. It occurred during a Passover seder at a hotel in Netanya. Thirty people were killed and 140 were injured. Also the the proposal of the API came during the middle of the second intifada.

The Israeli government rejected the API on the grounds that it provided for the right of return of the Palestinians and did not guarantee the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. Also there was no language in the agreement that did anything about the terrorist attacks and there was no provision made for the Jews in Jerusalem. The Arab Peace Initiative was viewed by the Israelis as a non-starter.

Now President Obama and Secretary of State, John Kerry are building their peace proposal around the Arab Peace Initiative. According to Sheera Frenkel of McClatchyNewspapers published in the Miami Herald;

Israeli and Palestinian officials confirmed to McClatchy that President Barack Obama raised the possibility of using the Arab Peace Initiative, as the plan was known, as a framework for an agreement when he was in the region last month.

“It was raised directly by Obama during his visit and during his closed-door discussion with the Palestinian leadership,” said a senior Palestinian official directly involved in the talks. “It was made clear to the Palestinian leadership that this would be the new direction of U.S. diplomacy in the region.”

The official said that White House officials laid the groundwork for the renewal of the Arab peace initiative two weeks before Obama’s visit to Israel and the West Bank when they spoke with Palestinian negotiators in Washington.

“They were told then that this would be the focus and that it had great potential,” said the Palestinian official, who asked not to be further identified because of the sensitivity of the talks. He said Obama, Kerry, Abbas and Palestinian negotiators Mohammed Shtayeh and Saeb Erekat discussed the topic for several hours during the president’s visit to Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority has its headquarters.

And the same article says that the Israeli leadership may be getting on board with the Arab Plan.

Ariel Sharon, then Israel’s prime minister, immediately rejected the plan. Subsequent Israeli leaders have periodically warmed to, and then rejected, the plan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who openly opposed the plan when he was opposition leader in 2007, has since quietly voiced support for it, including in closed-door meetings with Egyptian and Jordanian officials.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said that the Netanyahu government “has publicly praised the Arab Peace Initiative. It’s a great improvement on previous Arab positions, and we look forward to engaging on it.”

The Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank with close ties to the government, recently published an essay arguing that in light of changes in the region it could be wise for Israel to revisit the plan.

President Obama managed to get P.M. Netanyahu to apologize to the Turkish government for the actions of the Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara. This is a start to soothing the relationship between Israel and one of the most important and influential Muslim countries in the Middle East. Secretary of State Kerry is in Israel today (Sunday, April 7) talking to the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. This is just the start for Mr. Kerry as he has plans to spend the next two months making many trips to Israel trying to lay the groundwork for a settlement. And over the next two months, several Arab leaders will be visiting the president in the White House.

April 16: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates

April 23: Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar

April 26: King Abdullah II of Jordan

May 16: Recep Tayyip Erdogan Prime Minister of Turkey

And the Arab League has schedule and urgent meeting to discuss the peace initiative in Doha, Qatar tomorrow.

So keep watching. There is a lot of activity on the peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians. The pundits are not giving this much of a chance, but if it is within God's will and timing, it will happen. Remember the words of the apostle Paul.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.