Saudi Arabia, partners seek to revitalize Palestinian-Israeli peace process at UN meet

Ministerial meeting convenes in New York, United States, on September 18, 2023 to discuss revitalizing the Middle East Peace Process. (SPA)
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Updated 19 September 2023
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Saudi Arabia, partners seek to revitalize Palestinian-Israeli peace process at UN meet

  • Israeli-Palestinian peace continues to be elusive since the peace process was launched in Madrid in 1991
  • Saudi FM chairs meeting attended by representatives from nearly 70 countries, international organizations

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, the EU and along with Egypt and Jordan have issued a statement to revitalize the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, state news SPA reported on Tuesday.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi foreign minister, co-chaired a meeting that also including the Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League; Josep Borrell, EU’s high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Ayman Safadi, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Jordan; Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister.

The meeting was attended by representatives from nearly 70 countries and international organizations, and included around 50 speakers from diverse nations.

The meeting sought to produce a Peace Supporting Package that “will maximize peace dividends for the Palestinians and Israelis once they reach a peace agreement,” report noted.

“It seeks to produce detailed programs and contributions, conditional upon achieving a final status agreement, that will support the peace, and ensure that all peoples of the region reap its benefits. The effort seeks to ensure that Peace Day is a day of opportunity and promise, thus incentivizing earnest efforts to reach it.”

The statement noted that Israeli-Palestinian peace continued to be elusive since the peace process was launched in Madrid in 1991 as signed agreements, including the Oslo accords, have not been fully honored.

“The occupation continues and with it come a number of complications and difficulties that lead the parties further away from a possible agreement. The situation on the ground is proving to be untenable and the status quo is becoming impossible to accept, all the more in an international situation plagued with conflicts. Ignoring the need to revitalize the peace process is neither helpful to the parties nor to the present and future of the Middle East.”

The renewed effort is based on the urgent need to preserve the Two State Solution ensuring a viable sovereign independent and contiguous Palestinian state based on the June 4, 1967 lines, the SPA report added.

“The need to revitalize a meaningful peace process to achieve the Two State Solution, in accordance with international law, UNSC resolutions, the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and the 2013 EU peace supporting offer cannot be overemphasized. The alternative is further deterioration that will threaten regional and international security,” the statement added.

“The Peace Day Effort builds, among others, on the Arab Peace Initiative (API), which was adopted by the Arab States to lay out their vision for a comprehensive regional peace and its terms and requirements. Predicated on the full withdrawal from all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967 in exchange for full normalization, the API was later endorsed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and welcomed by the European Union and the United Nations.

“The Peace Day Effort also builds on the 2013 EU offer to provide an “unprecedented package of political, security and economic support” to both parties in the context of a final status agreement.”

The conveners also launched working groups charged with elaborating the components of the comprehensive Peace Supporting Package, and all participants were invited to contribute to the working groups.

The Working Groups will focus on identifying substantive elements of the Peace Supporting Package, and will convene in principle at Special Envoy or Ambassadorial level and will benefit from input by experts.


Lebanon’s south could become US-backed economic zone, according to local paper Nidaa Al-Watan

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Lebanon’s south could become US-backed economic zone, according to local paper Nidaa Al-Watan

  • Lebanese daily quotes sources as saying the US plan casts southern Lebanon as a key gateway for broader economic transformation
  • White House fails to respond to Arab News’ request for comment

LONDON: Lebanese daily Nidaa Al-Watan has reported that the office of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, has prepared detailed maps for a so‑called “Trump Economic Zone” in southern Lebanon. 

According to columnist Tarek Abou Zeinab, the Kushner plan has been formally submitted to the White House for consideration. 

Citing unnamed sources, the column said that the idea is no longer just a “whispered” concept among political circles but has entered what it described as “concrete border‑related discussions aimed at fast‑tracking the plan onto the US administration’s Middle East implementation agenda.” 

Arab News asked the US Embassy in Beirut and the US State Department for comment, but was directed to the White House for any official response. The White House was subsequently contacted but has not responded. 

Lebanon has been mired in prolonged political paralysis. Large parts of the south remain under Hezbollah’s influence, while Israel illegally occupies at least five outposts along the border that are within Lebanese sovereign land. 

According to Nidaa Al‑Watan’s sources, the US concept frames southern Lebanon as a key gateway for a wider economic transformation, tying large‑scale investment and infrastructure projects to security arrangements on the ground. 

The reported plan would seek to attract international capital, establish factories and logistics hubs, upgrade infrastructure, and build a port connected to global shipping routes. 

Its aim, according to the column, would be to open new export channels through a free‑zone model and lure major energy companies by linking southern Lebanon to wider schemes such as the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor. 

Supporters of the plan argue it could trigger large Arab and international investments, raise living standards and create long‑term jobs, thereby lowering the risk of renewed conflict. 

However, Lebanese political and media sources quoted by the daily have warned that the proposal follows a new “hegemonic” approach and carries major political implications that cannot be ignored. 

The critics say the reported US vision goes beyond development to include the establishment of Jewish settlements in parts of southern Lebanon, justified on religious and security grounds to protect northern Israel. 

One source expressed concern that such moves would create a geographic and symbolic link between Israel and southern Lebanon, deepening fears over sovereignty and the region’s future political trajectory. 

The paper said Kushner is focussed on areas stretching from Mount Hermon to Shebaa and Naqoura in the far south at a time when Israel has been pressing for a buffer zone along the border, citing security concerns since the end of major clashes with Hezbollah in November 2024. 

The proposed zone would cover more than 27 southern towns, raising questions over Lebanese sovereignty. 

In parallel, the Lebanese army has been tasked with bringing all weapons under state control and asserting government authority in areas long dominated by Hezbollah, as part of a broader disarmament and security plan. 

Despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out attacks inside Lebanese territory and maintains control over parts of the south, saying the measures are necessary for security. 

Lebanese and Israeli delegations held talks in Naqoura earlier in December to shore up the ceasefire and discuss reconstruction in the south.