I see no reason whatsoever for this Arab pessimism regarding the upcoming international peace conference scheduled for next month in Washington. In fact everything surrounding the conference seems to cry out that this is the last phase of a final settlement after which peace will envelop the entire Middle East. Israel has shown goodwill and a positive spirit, which makes us firmly believe that it's finally ready to recognize the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to set up the State of Palestine on their own land and, in turn, solve the Middle East conflict once and for all. An official aide to Israeli President Ehud Olmert stated that Israel does not object to any Arab State attending the aforementioned conference on condition that these states recognize the Israeli State and declare their condemnation of the armed struggle - which the Israeli official described as terrorism - of the Palestinian people to free their occupied land. According to news agency reports, that same official source pointed out the importance of Syrian participation on condition that it refrains from supporting what the source called 'terrorism' and officially recognizes Israel. Referring to the conference, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, stated that Arab countries must normalize relations with Israel and not wait until a final political settlement is reached. This way, she added, it would be easier for Israel to take positive steps vis-à-vis the Arab states. Who can ask for more goodwill? What else can possibly call for more optimism? Israel has proven its willingness to secure all its demands even before the conference is held, these demands being that Arab countries recognize it, that the Palestinians stop their armed struggle and that relations are normalized. No one can deny such a strong spirit of goodwill. And in order to guarantee the realization of all these demands, Israel has imposed them as preconditions that the Arabs must meet even before reaching a final settlement. We, on the other hand, haven't done the same, which proves that Israel has a point when it claims that it's ready to forge peace, but that the Arabs are unwilling to be partners for peace. So why don't we show a similar spirit of positive goodwill and impose some preconditions that Israel must meet to be allowed to attend the conference? This way we would be sharing Israel's undisputed goodwill in its steps towards peace. Arab countries must likewise declare that they do not object to Israel attending the Washington peace conference if it meets certain preconditions. If Israel has stipulated that all Arab countries must recognize the State of Israel, end all forms of armed struggle (i.e. terrorism) and normalize relations with the Jewish State even before reaching a final settlement; then the Arabs must likewise stipulate that Israel must evacuate all Arab land it has been occupying for 40 years in Palestine, Jordan and Syria, as well as other areas it has occupied like Shebea Farms in south Lebanon, before it is allowed to attend the conference. It must also step up efforts to set up a Palestinian State even before a final settlement is reached. Such constructive, positive preconditions from both sides are enough to create a new reality in the Middle East. If Israel ends its occupation of Arab lands and if the Arab countries recognize the Israeli state; if a Palestinian State came into being and normalization blazed ahead then surely the whole Middle East conflict which has raged now for almost six decades, would surely be resolved without even waiting for the Washington conference. The there would be no need for either the Arabs or Israel to attend this planned conference in Washington nor to set any preconditions for either of them to attend that useless conference.
