ARAB MINISTERS AGREE ON PEACE APPROACH IN ADVANCE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000914 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/IPA, AND NEA/FO NSC FOR SHAPIRO AND KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2029 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAL IS JO SUBJECT: ARAB MINISTERS AGREE ON PEACE APPROACH IN ADVANCE OF JORDANIAN KING'S U.S. VISIT REF: AMMAN 887 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S/NF) Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh passed Ambassador the text of points agreed upon by Arab ministers who met in Amman on April 11, in advance of King Abdullah's trip to the United States. That meeting - dubbed "7 1" - brought together Jordanian, Saudi, Lebanese, Egyptian, Qatari, and Palestinian ministers, plus the Arab League Secretary General. The Syrian FM, who was in Iran, phoned in his support for the Arab Peace Initiative. The points, approved for the King's use in Washington, track closely with a separate paper that Chief of the Royal Court Nasser Al-Lozi previously passed to Post, which was entitled, "Jordanian Proposal for the U.S. Administration to Advance Peace Negotiations." A synopsis of the key points agreed upon by the ministers was provided in reftel. ¶2. (S/NF) Nonpaper on Arab "7 1" points as agreed upon in Amman on April 11, 2009: BEGIN TEXT -The Arab League Summit meeting held in Doha, Qatar on 30th March 2009 adopted resolutions upholding the Arab Peace Initiative and reiterating the commitment of Arab States to the two-state solution to the Palestinian problem and achieving comprehensive Peace between all Arab States and Israel. -It is important, for any peace-making effort to move forward, wield tangible results and succeed, that the new Israeli Government formally and unequivocally, commit to the two-state solution within the framework of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on all the internationally agreed upon terms of reference for peace in the Middle East and the Arab Peace Initiative. -It is essential for the success of this endeavor to have an immediate freeze on all settlement activity including "natural growth." The cessation of excavations in East Jerusalem, evictions from and demolition of houses and ending confiscation of land and property in the Occupied West Bank are other equally important steps that the Israeli Government has to take. -It has to be made clear that progress on the ground has to include ending the siege on Gaza, removing checkpoints in the West Bank, facilitating access and movement of persons and goods and the release of Palestinian prisoners. -There is a vital need to leverage U.S. credibility, integrity and leadership to play an impartial and active role that is much needed, to propose and support a workable and comprehensive framework based on progress and understandings already achieved: negotiations with set end-parameters starting from where the previous negotiations had stopped. -Associating the objective of peace in the Middle East with U.S. national interest is essential. In other words, the need to reach a permanent, durable, and comprehensive negotiated peace settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Time is not on the side of a two-state solution or of a comprehensive regional peace settlement. The status quo in the Occupied Territories is by no means frozen. There has been an aggressive and active continuation of unilateral steps and measures that affect and arguably aim at altering the status quo, be it in the form of continuation of settlement activity, the construction of the separation wall or excavations and evictions aiming at changing the identity of Jerusalem. -Emphasizing a regional peace between Israel and all Arab states, as well as normalization between Israel and Muslim states, based on the Arab Peace Initiative, and ensuring that this shift to regional peace does not in any manner or way lead to the counterproductive milieu (sic) of competition between tracks. -The time has come to introduce a plan of implementation that guides and supports negotiations. This has to be implemented in a reasonably well defined timeframe and a benchmarked manner building on previous achievements. Such a "plan" should revolve around the following principles: AMMAN 00000914 002 OF 002 1) The end result to be set out by the U.S., in accordance with agreed upon international principles, so that all the parties understand the end game. This in itself will entice the parties to cross the finish line rather than stop short of it. Namely the full implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative. 2) That this new momentum is publicly presented as an integral part of the U.S. pursuit of its own national interest (in other words not just a brokering role),which in this case is concurrent with the interests of the parties themselves; a win-win situation. Identifying this effort as part of the U.S. national interest objectives will ensure that it is not rejected, opposed or sabotaged by any party, as this might compromise their relationship with the U.S. 3) It is of utmost importance -- for the success of this endeavor -- to have a total and unconditional freeze of all settlement activity in the Occupied Territories, including natural growth as per Senator George Mitchell's previous recommendations in 2001, roadmap commitments and those of Annapolis relating to settlement freeze. 4) The U.S. Administration should be the key player that sets clear time-lined benchmarks for the negotiators, with an end in sight that guides next steps forward. This should also provide clear definitions for obligations to hold parties accountable on delivering on their commitments (establish a standard of performance that is monitored and publicized for each obligation). This has to be preceded by setting a date for a Summit Conference to re-launch negotiations from the point at which they stopped. 5) The President could play a key role in personally "weighing in" on the parties, thus bridging the gaps and ensuring that hurdles are overcome. END TEXT. Visit Amman's Classified Website at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman Brown