Observers note that as long as Saudi Arabia’s leaders don’t formally issue the plan, the leaders can reap a diplomatic windfall for their allegedly positive attitude to Arab-Israeli peace. Simultaneously they can say to the Arab world that they never really proposed anything.
In the interview with Friedman, Abdullah claimed he had in his desk a draft of a speech issuing such a call. But, he added, he had decided not to make a speech about the proposal because of the policies of Ariel Sharon’s government in Israel.
So why are the Saudis floating an unofficial proposal?
Some observers believed it was simply a trial balloon to test Arab and international reaction before a March 27 summit of the Arab League.
Others suggested that the Saudis are concerned the 17-month-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict could destabilize the entire region.
Another possibility raised was that Saudi officials want to improve their image in Washington after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who carried out the attacks were Saudi nationals.
According to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has come up with several possible motives for the Saudi initiative — including the probability that it was aimed at forging a unified Arab front on the diplomatic process while casting Israel in the role of obstructer to the peace process.
Ha’aretz commentator Akiva Eldar suggested another motive: The initiative was not aimed at Sharon’s government but at the Israeli people and the opposition to bring about a change of government to one willing to accept the proposal.
Meanwhile, Israel Radio reported that a senior U.S. official had cautioned Israel that the unofficial initiative does not directly address the immediate problem of ending the Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The Bush administration nevertheless appears to be supporting the Saudi plan — as is a number of other nations.
Israeli officials, particularly Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, reacted with interest to the Saudi plan. President Moshe Katsav said he was prepared to go to Saudi Arabia to discuss the plan, but the Saudis immediately rejected the idea.
Israel Radio reported Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was making inquiries through several channels, including the United States.
However, a senior aide to Sharon said Monday that Israel could not agree to the plan’s key provision — a return to the pre-1967 borders, under which the totality of Jerusalem was divided.
Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana held an hour talk Wednesday with Abdullah, who supposedly told him that he wants to win the support of the Arab League for his plan.
Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon reportedly have responded positively. A Saudi newspaper noted that Syria was not opposed to it. And Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat also is said to have endorsed the idea.
Bush administration officials are seeking more details about the initiative. The plan is expected to be a topic of discussion when Vice President Dick Cheney visits the region this month.
But they note that their immediate goal is a cease-fire, and that the pressure is still on Arafat to control violence.
While the finer details of the Saudi plan have not been disclosed, more information is continually leaking out.
After Friedman’s column appeared in the New York Times, another Times columnist, Henry Siegman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, offered more details. He indicated that the plan would not preclude Israeli sovereignty over some neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, and land transfers that would bring some West Bank settlement areas under Israeli sovereignty.
Siegman met with Arafat on Monday and told the Jerusalem Post that Arafat’s endorsement included a call to allow Israel to retain sovereignty over the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. Siegman noted that it was the first time Arafat had conceded rule over a part of eastern Jerusalem.
Analysts say that a commitment from Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel if such a deal is signed can help the parties focus on the big picture.
“Coming from Saudi Arabia, which has a distinct leadership position in the Arab world, it raises the profile of the concepts contained within the plan and perhaps creates a new opportunity for the United States to get behind a viable peace plan,” said Lewis Roth, assistant executive director of Americans for Peace Now.