'Arabs revising peace plan to win Israel backing for 2 states'

Arab states are revising elements of a 2002 peace plan to encourage Israel to agree to the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, the London-based paper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported Wednesday.

The countries are making the amendments at United States President Barack Obama's request, the paper said. Some of the changes deal with a controversial "right of return" for Palestinian refugees to Israel or a future state of Palestine.

The notion of a return to Israel proper by Palestinian refugees and their descendents has met with considerable opposition in Israel from across the political spectrum.

According to the pan-Arab paper, the amendments are also to the framing of a timetable for the normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab world, which the plan offers in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from territory conquered in the 1967 Six Day War.

Jordan's King Abdullah, who recently met with Obama in Washington, is managing the contacts held to revise the initiative. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will reportedly present the plan to Obama in a meeting in a number of weeks.

The countries are making the amendments at United States President Barack Obama's request, the paper said. Some of the changes deal with a controversial "right of return" for Palestinian refugees to Israel or a future state of Palestine... the amendments are also to the framing of a timetable for the normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab world, which the plan offers in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from territory conquered in the 1967 Six Day War. Jordan's King Abdullah, who recently met with Obama in Washington, is managing the contacts held to revise the initiative. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will reportedly present the plan to Obama in a meeting in a number of weeks.

Nothing new. The Arab demands about Israeli withdrawal have not changed one iota in decades, and never will. Israel's counterproposal should be, "normalize relations with Israel as Egypt has done, or stuff it up your butt."

U.N. Security Council Resolution 242
November 22, 1967

Following the June '67, Six-Day War, the situation in the Middle East was discussed by the UN General Assembly, which referred the issue to the Security Council. After lengthy discussion, a final draft for a Security Council resolution was presented by the British Ambassador, Lord Caradon, on November 22, 1967. It was adopted on the same day.

This resolution, numbered 242, established provisions and principles which, it was hoped, would lead to a solution of the conflict. Resolution 242 was to become the cornerstone of Middle East diplomatic efforts in the coming decades.

The Security Council,

Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East,

Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security,

Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,

Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:
- Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;
- Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;
Affirms further the necessity
- For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area;
- For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem;
- For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every State in the area, through measures including the establishment of demilitarized zones;
Requests the Secretary General to designate a Special Representative to proceed to the Middle East to establish and maintain contacts with the States concerned in order to promote agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted settlement in accordance with the provisions and principles in this resolution;
Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the progress of the efforts of the Special Representative as soon as possible.

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