Relations between Israel and the Arab states are liable to undergo a historic turning point when the delegation from the Arab League follow-up committee requests a meeting with the Israeli government to discuss the Arab initiative in the coming days.
This delegation - which derives its authority both from the Arab League, which has appealed directly to Israel in the framework of the Riyadh summit, as well as from the four states comprising the Arab Quartet - seeks to present Israel with a unique opportunity to advance the peace process: It asks Israel to accept the Arab initiative and, under its umbrella, to begin negotiations with its adversaries.
It‘s impossible to exaggerate the importance of the Arab initiative and the direct Arab appeal to Israel. A continuation of the initiative accepted in Beirut in 2002 that defines the parameters by which full peace and normalization between Israel and the Arab states will be established - the current process is one of implementation, one that at least makes an active attempt to persuade, rather than just to declare intentions. For the first time, Arab states are offering their services as mediators, not just with respect to local issues that stem from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, they have adopted a comprehensive approach that confronts regional interests and is prepared to adopt Israel as part of the solution, not just as part of the problem. This is the same approach that Israel has hoped for since its establishment - and perhaps the time has now come to realize it.
However, it would be a mistake to think that the Arab states intend to step into the shoes of the Palestinian Authority, or of Syria or Lebanon, to negotiate with Israel in their place. Opening negotiations between Israel and the Arab League or some of the Arab Quartet states, on the basis of a system of mutual accords, is also not at issue. The Arab initiative, and the Arab effort to promote it, aim to break through the blocked diplomatic channels in an effort to allow individual negotiations with the countries involved in the conflict.
As such, the Israeli government must not only be welcoming and make appropriate statements. It must also provide a practical response, describing how it plans to implement the political negotiations. Does it plan to return to the slogans and preconditions that did not accomplish anything, and only assured continued stagnation? Does it see the initiative as an Arab exercise in public relations that should be received that way? Or is the government planning, this time, to create a genuine opportunity?
The foundations of such an opportunity could be brought about, first of all, by means of an Israeli declaration indicating that the government accepts the Arab initiative in principle - without the building-up of preconditions on both sides. Israeli and Arab readiness to turn a new diplomatic leaf must be accompanied by an immediate and tangible change in the reality of the occupation. At the same time, Israel also has the right to ask the Arab states that are promoting the initiative to clarify what their practical contribution will be to the negotiations.