The Arab League on Saturday threw cold water on US President Barack Obama’s yet-to-be-announced regional peace initiative when its chairman noted Israel was never promised full peace in return for the surrender of Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and the eastern half of Jerusalem.
Speaking to reporters in Damascus, Arab League head Amr Mussa said that the “57-state solution” that is being so touted by the media ahead of Obama’s visit to the region “is not on the table” as far as the nations he represents are concerned.
Obama has been trying to make a pan-Arab peace proposal first put forward by Saudi Arabia in 2002 more palatable to Israelis by offering the Jewish state firm promises of peace, security and normalized relations.
But such statements by Mussa and other Arab leaders have left many Israelis with the feeling that it is all a ruse, and that even if they comply with all Arab demands, the conflict will rage on.