The Arab peace plan is still on offer and its acceptance by Israel would bring peace to the Mideast, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Foreign Minister, told reporters here on Wednesday night. The path to security, he said, is through peace not war. In 2002, King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, proposed a peace plan to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, a simple, straightforward plan. The Arab peace initiative calls for the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as its capital. “The initiative paves the way for the end of the conflict, and it is still on the table,” Prince Saud said. However, before any negotiations can start, he said fighting has to stop. Prince Saud once again expressed strong disappointment that the UN Security Council has failed to end Israeli aggression on Gaza. “It is the responsibility of the Security Council to end the armed conflict as soon as it begins. The conflict in Gaza has sparked a humanitarian tragedy yet the Council has not acted. That raises questions about its credibility. Procrastination and neglect are not ways to end conflict,” he said. Prince Saud repeated his call for an end to the Israeli aggression in Gaza, saying it is counter-productive to what Israel says are its goals. “If Israel continues to kill innocent people, how will that do anything for Israel? On the contrary, it will push people toward extremism. War as a political tool is the wrong method. We have seen that over the past few years. Nobody can eliminate anybody through war. The tragedy is that only innocents are victims.”
