The Arab League Summit held in Riyadh on 28-29 March 2007 re-affirmed the Arab League’s commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 (also known as the Beirut Declaration), full text below. A Committee was created at the Riyadh Summit to take the initiative forward. On 4 May, the Quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia) met the members of the Arab League Follow-Up Committee (Arab League Secretariat, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Qatar). On 10 May, Israeli Foreign Minister Livni met Egyptian President Mubarak and the Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministers in Cairo. We support the Arab League’s endeavours and the goal of normalised Arab-Israeli relations.
The Beirut Declaration - March 28, 2002
Declaration by the Council of the League of Arab States at the Summit Level, at its 14th Ordinary Session:
Reaffirming the resolution taken in June 1996 at the Cairo extraordinary Arab Summit that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East is the strategic option of the Arab countries, to be achieved in accordance with international legality, and which would require a comparable commitment on the part of the Israeli Government;
Having listened to the statement made by His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in which His Highness presented his initiative, calling for full Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab territories occupied since June 1967, in implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, reaffirmed by the Madrid Conference of 1991 and the land for peace principle; and for Israel's acceptance of an independent Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in return for the establishment of normal relations in the context of a comprehensive peace with Israel;
Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the Council:
- Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.
- Further calls upon Israel to affirm:
a. Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights to the lines of June 4, 1967, as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.
b. Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian Refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.
c. The acceptance of the establishment of a Sovereign Independent Palestinian State on the Palestinian territories occupied since the 4th of June 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. - Consequently, the Arab Countries affirm the following:
a. Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.
b. Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace. - Assures the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries.
- Calls upon the Government of Israel and all Israelis to accept this initiative in order to safeguard the prospects for peace and stop the further shedding of blood, enabling the Arab countries and Israel to live in peace and good neighbourliness and provide future generations with security, stability, and prosperity.
- Invites the international community and all countries and organizations to support this initiative.
- Requests the Chairman of the Summit to form a special committee composed of some of its concerned member states and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to pursue the necessary contacts to gain support for this initiative at all levels, particularly from the United Nations, the Security Council, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the Muslim States and the European Union.