Time to build on Arab peace initiative

Abu Dhabi: The time has come to build on the Arab Peace Initiative, which was launched in 2002, and ensure that Arab leaders are part of a renewed comprehensive peace process, the top British diplomat said on Monday.

David Miliband, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, said Arab leaders should be "active participants with interests and responsibilities, not substituting for Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, but not passive spectators either."

He was speaking at a three-day Nuclear Energy Conference held in Abu Dhabi.

He pointed out that the incoming US president has spoken about the stakes.

"And President-elect Obama has signalled that he understands the stakes. Arab leaders will do well to show him that the API offer is still on the table, that this offer actively invites a serious Israeli counter offer, and that there is a clear path for both sides to peace and normalisation. Europe needs to be there in support, and I believe it will be."

However, he warned that if the status quo in the Middle East continues, the prospect of peace could disappear forever.

People in despair

"The situation on the ground in the Middle East, that leaves too many people insecure, in poverty and despair, is rapidly undermining the political process. And because while both sides are tiring of the conflict, they are also tiring, faster, of efforts to resolve it," Miliband said.

Miliband said he had visited Jenin and seen a success story in terms of the Palestinian Security Force "but met Palestinians who feel hopeless and humiliated. Their daily experience is of checkpoints, road blocks and harassment. In Gaza it is worse. Restrictions on access for supplies through the border crossings have left its citizens short of food and medicine."