Arab League to discuss withdrawal of Arab Peace Initiative

Arab League to discuss withdrawal of Arab Peace Initiative

Bethelehem - Ma'an - Terminating the Arab Peace Initiative will be on
the Arab League summit's agenda in Libya this weekend, its secretary-
general, Amr Moussa, said Wednesday.

In a statement released before traveling to Sirte, Libya, ahead of the
summit, Moussa said it was futile to continue dealing with Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following recent developments in
Jerusalem, and that Israel's "hardline stance" would not "push" Arab
League conveners into "giving up on Jerusalem."

Withdrawal from the Arab Peace Initiative will be put before
conveners, with all members participating this year "without
exception," Moussa said, adding that "most countries will be
represented by the highest levels of leadership."

"We have been following recent developments in Palestine and Israeli
practice in Jerusalem. The Arab submit will review all facts and
developments and we will see what the Arab League summit will yield,"
Moussa said.

The initiative, launched in Beirut in 2002, proposes to normalize
relations with Israel, within the context of establishing a sovereign
Palestinian state on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its
capital.

The decision to discuss the initiative's revocation follows a string
of announcements by the Israeli government to continue settlement
building and expansion in occupied East Jerusalem, including an
Israeli-only unit in the flashpoint Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh
Jarrah.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that he will participate
in the Arab League summit amid what he called a crisis of confidence
surrounding Israel’s plans to build new settlements in East Jerusalem,
the UN reported.

“I say again, here, what I have been repeatedly saying: that
settlements are illegal under international law. This must stop,” Ki-
moon told journalists in New York following Israel's announcement to
build in Sheikh Jarrah.

Moussa made known that US-brokered proximity talks between the
Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government had been derailed in
early March, following the Israeli Interior Ministry's decision to
build 1,600 Israeli-only homes in East Jerusalem during US Vice
President Joe Biden's visit to renew stalled peace talks.

Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday that Israel's most
recent decision to build on occupied Palestinian land in Jerusalem, is
damaging Israel's credibility as a serious partner for peace and are
further attempts to erase the Palestinian presence in the city.

Meanwhile, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the US
administration believes Israel's continued building in Jerusalem is
destructive to the peace process, the Associated Press reported.

President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman said Tuesday that there will be no
peace or stability without a Palestinian Jerusalem, reiterating the
PA's stance that the body will not enter into talks with Israel until
settlement construction is brought to an end in the city.