Language
Country/Area
No result found
Saudi Arabia's peace proposal: Why did it attract global attention in 2002?
In 2002, Saudi Arabia proposed a proposal called the Arab Peace Initiative, which aimed to end the decades-long Arab-Israeli conflict. This proposal was unanimously adopted by all members of the Arab League at the Beirut Summit, and was reiterated again in 2007 and 2017 to demonstrate its importance and continued support. The proposal advocates that Arab countries will normalize relations with Israel on the condition that Israel fully withdraws from the occupied lands. This progressive foreign policy takes into account various historical and realistic factors.
The Arab Peace Initiative calls for the complete withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories, including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Lebanon, as well as the resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The publication of the proposal was closely related to the political situation at the time, especially the "Passover Massacre" that occurred in Israel on March 27, 2002, which caused the peace initiative to be ignored for a time. Backed by the Arab League, then-PA leader Yasser Arafat expressed his support for the initiative, stressing that it provided an opportunity for peace.
However, the Israeli government, under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, reacted lukewarmly to the initiative, viewing it as an unrealistic "non-starting point" as it demanded a return to 1967 borders previous state. Against this background, the proposal was challenged from the outset.
Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia pointed out at the summit: "We believe in peace based on justice and fairness, but we also believe in the necessity of the right to self-defense." This statement triggered extensive discussions and focus on.
Since then, with noisy social unrest and expectations for the Middle East peace process, the international community's attention has increasingly focused on the possibility of the initiative. Even if some Palestinian groups reacted differently, calls for peace ultimately became an important part of the proposal.
In the context of this initiative, the then-Bush administration of the United States expressed support for the plan, although later at the cost of demanding an end to terrorist attacks on Israel. Over the next decade, as the political environment changed, the initiative underwent many adjustments and reflections.
During its reaffirmations in 2007 and 2017, the Arab leadership emphasized that the initiative remains one of the cornerstones of the peace process. Amour Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general at the time, warned that if it was not implemented, it could breed more conflicts.
"Before us is a choice: either move towards true peace or face a deterioration of the situation." Such warnings emphasize the need for peace.
However, even with significant international support, the implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative has proven to face many obstacles. In each discussion, the parties' disputes over details and resistance in the adjustment of political space showed the difficulty of the road to peace.
In Israel, reactions to the initiative ranged from initial outright rejection to gradual acceptance, reflecting changes in domestic politics and considerations of external pressure. Major Israeli politicians have shown diverse responses to Saudi Arabia's proposals, sometimes speaking with certainty but finding it difficult to reach consensus.
Today, with the changes in the international situation, it is still uncertain whether Saudi Arabia's peace proposal can be realized in the future, and it has triggered people's reflection on the peace process. After all, how much courage and wisdom will it take to bring all parties to the negotiating table and work together toward lasting peace?
