Right of return – 'a nonstarter clause'
As Arab nations gather for Riyadh Convention, Jerusalem officials voice expectations for significant change in language of Saudi peace initiative, say Palestinian demand to right of return unacceptable prerequisite
"The Arab nations must understand that the right of return is a red line as far as Israel is concerned," said senior state officials in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expects the Arab League Summit in Riyadh will lead to significant changes in the Saudi peace initiative, including dropping the right of return clause.
"Arab nations seeking to advance the Middle East peace process must remove the right of return from the equation," said the state officials. The peace initiative agreed upon by the Arab League in 2002 calls for Israel to withdraw to its 1967 borders, including the Golan Heights and Sheba Farms in the north, as well as the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The 2002 initiative also calls for an agreement on the matter of the Palestinian refugees.
In Jerusalem officials made clear that Israel considers the right of return a "nonstarter demand. As long as Arab nations demand the right of return – no progress can be made. The other difficult issues, the 67' borders and East Jerusalem, are open for discussion, but not the return of Palestinian refugees to the Green Line.
The officials stressed that despite's Israel's decision to refuse to cooperate with the Hamas-led Palestinian unity government – the Saudi initiative is still open for consideration: "As the prime minister said, there are positive elements to this initiative, and we are willing to seriously consider it. But everything depends on everything. There is the matter of the Hamas government, which the government decided to boycott, and there is the Saudi initiative, which needs amending. One issue cannot progress without the other."
Earlier this month Olmert said that Israel “has said more than once that the Saudi initiative is a matter that we treat seriously, and this is still our position. We hope that at the summit of Arab heads-of-state that will be held in Riyadh, the plan’s positive elements will receive special emphasis, increasing the chances of negotiations between us and the Palestinian Authority.”
Israel receives backing from Quartet
Over the course of the next 10 days representatives from three of the four so-called Quartet countries - The United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States – are scheduled to visit Israel. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Director General Ban ki-Moon and German Chancellor and current EU President Angela Merkel are all expected to meet with top-Israeli officials and discuss concerns regarding the new Palestinian government. The Quartet has demanded the new Hamas-led government recognize Israel, renounce violence and agree to Israeli-Palestinian accords before the embargo is lifted.
Olmert intends to inform the three leaders that Israel will continue to boycott the new government, including its Fatah ministers, and ask the Quartet to continue demanding that the PA adhere to the demands of the international community before cooperating with them.
The ministry of foreign affairs was pleased by the Quartet's announcement. "It proves that all our concerns that Israel's demands of the international community would collapse were incorrect, these demands remain and strengthen Jerusalem's position," said ministry officials.
