This eek
This Week
Saudi Gambit
Crown prince's Mideast peace initiative
has both sides moving cautiously.
NAOMI SEGAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jerusalem
A
new Saudi peace initiative
has created a stir in the
Middle East and draWn
Israeli interest.
The initiative, which Saudi Crown
Prince Abdullah outlined in a recent
interview with New York Times journalist
Thomas Friedman, calls for Israel to
withdraw to its pre-Six-Day-War bound-
aries in exchange for full diplomatic rela-
tions, normalized trade and security
guarantees from Arab countries.
In the interview, Abdullah claimed he
had in his desk a draft of a speech issu-
ing such a call. But, he added, he had
decided not to make the proposal
because of the policies of Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon's government in Israel.
Friedman noted that the explanation
fit a pattern of Arab excuses for peace
moves they said they had almost made,
but ultimately didn't.
Still, the "nonproposal" has generated
interest in Israeli, Arab and American
circles.
Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon already
have responded positively to the initia-
tive. A Saudi newspaper reported
Monday that Syria was not opposed to
it.
However, Palestinian Authority leader
Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement rejected
the proposal, according to reports in the
Arab media.
A Saudi adviser to the crown prince
briefed Bush administration officials in
Washington over the weekend, while
reports said another Saudi representative
had traveled to Beirut with a message for
Lebanon's president, Emile Lahoud.
Sharon Inquiring
In Israel, Ariel Sharon confirmed on
Sunday that he had already taken "sever-
al steps" to learn more about the initia-
tive, but did not elaborate. On Monday,
Israel Radio reported that Sharon was
making inquiries through several chan-
nels, including the United States. The
report said he was interested in learning
the details through either open or secret
contacts with the crown prince or a
trustworthy representative.
A senior aide to Sharon said Monday
that Israel could not agree to one of the
proposal's key provisions. "Under the
assumption that what has been pub-
US. Warning?
Israel Radio reported that the United
States has cautioned Israel against
overestimating the importance of the
proposal. The report quoted a senior
U.S. official as saying that the initia-
tive does not directly address the
immediate problem of ending the
Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Some observers suggested
Abdullah floated the initiative as a
trial balloon to test Arab and inter-
national reaction before an April
meeting of the Arab League. Others
suggested that the Saudis are con-
cerned that the ongoing Israeli-
News Digest
Palestinian Kills
Israeli Employer
Jerusalem/JTA — A Palestinian mur-
dered his Israeli employer Wednesday at
a factory north of Jerusalem. Initial
reports said the Palestinian, who had
worked at the factory for three years,
walked into his employer's office, shot
him twice in the head and fled the
scene.
The incident, which police termed a
terror attack, occurred at a factory in the
Atarot industrial zone, located between
Jerusalem and Ramallah. At least two
Palestinian groups rushed to claim
responsibility for the killing.
Poll: Muslims Blame
Israel And America
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is greeted by Crown Prince Abdullah in
Riyadh in Saudi Arabia during a visit.
lished is correct, it must be said that
we're speaking of a positive trend,"
Cabinet Secretary Gideon Saar told
Army Radio. "This does not mean that
we agree to the demand for a return to
the 1967 borders. It's clear that we won't
agree to this."
Arafat's Fatah also took issue with at
least one portion of the Saudi proposal.
According to reports, Fatah officials were
displeased that the initiative did not c211
on Israel to recognize the right of
Palestinian refugees to return to homes
they abandoned during the 1948 War of
Independence.
In another development, Israeli
President Moshe Katsav invited the
prince to come to Jerusalem to discuss
the initiative. Katsav also said Monday
that he would travel to Saudi Arabia if
invited.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres
on Monday called the proposal "interest-
ing" and "fascinating," but stressed that
Israel needs more details.
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 ter-
rorists who carried out the attacks
were Saudi nationals.
According to the Israeli daily
Ha'aretz, Israel's Foreign Ministry has
come up with several possible motives
for the Saudi initiative — including
the possibility that it was aimed at
forging a unified Arab front on the
diplomatic process, while casting Israel
in the role of obstructor to the peace
process.
Hakretz commentator Akiva Eldar
suggested another motive: The initia-
tive was not aimed at Sharon's govern-
ment but at the Israeli people and the
opposition, he said, to bring about a
change of government to one willing
to accept the proposal. 111
Washington/JTA — An overwhelming
majority of Muslims do not believe
Arabs carried out the Sept. 11 attacks
on America. Only 18 percent of those
polled in six countries said they believed
that Arabs were responsible for the
attacks on the World Trade Center and
Pentagon, USA Today reported
Wednesday, citing a recent Gallup poll.
Many of the respondents blamed
Israel or the United States, the paper
reported. Just nine percent said U.S.
military action in Afghanistan was
morally justified, while 77 percent said
it was morally unjustified. The poll,
conducted in December and January,
involved 9,924 interviews conducted in
Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia,
Turkey, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan and
Morocco.
Federation Gains
Rights To Lyrics
New York/JTA — The rights to the
lyrics of one of Arnerica's great songwrit-
ers will pass to New York's Jewish feder-
ation.
As a result of Lorenz Hart's bequest,
the UJA-Federation of New York
could receive as much as $1 million a
year, according to a federation official.
Hart, who collaborated with compos-
er Richard Rogers, wrote hundreds of
songs, including "My Funny Valentine"
and "Lady Is a Tramp."
The money goes to the federation
after the death of Hart's sister-in-law,
who held the lyric rights in a trust. Hart
died in 1943.
DIGEST on page 28
3/1
2002