Damascus, May 26: Amid reports of an American plan offering Israel ties with Arab and Muslim countries in exchange for talks on all peace tracks, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) stressed, that relations with Israel would come after solving the Arab-Israeli conflict.
“(Any normalization) will come after the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict,” OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told a press conference following a three-day meeting of the OIC foreign ministers.
The clear OIC position comes amid reports that the Obama administration is working on a comprehensive approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict offering Israel normalized ties with Arab and Muslim countries in exchange for peace talks with the Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese.
The 57-State Solution: For Israel?
Jordanian King Abullah said recently that Obama was forming a Middle East peace plan that could involve normalization of ties between Israel and the whole Muslim world.
“The future is not the Jordan River or the Golan Heights or Sinai, the future is Morocco in the Atlantic to Indonesia in the Pacific,” he has told The Times.
“That is a very strong statement when we are offering a third of the world to meet them with open arms.”
Only Egypt and Jordan have signed peace agreements and have full diplomatic ties with Israel.
Secular but predominantly Muslim Turkey has military links with Tel Aviv.
No Reward
The OIC stressed that any recognition of Israel must be linked to solving the Arab-Israeli conflict.
“It should be affirmed that any progress on ties must be linked to how much the Israeli position represents a commitment to a just and comprehensive peace that guarantees the restoration of rights and occupied land,” it stressed.
“We must not reward Israel for its crimes.”
Israel killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and wounded 5,450 in its 22-day war on fenced-off Gaza in January.
The onslaught also wrecked havoc on the infrastructure, leaving nearly 20,000 homes and thousands of other buildings damaged.
The same message on future ties with Israel was reinforced by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
“Response to Israeli practices should be made by announcing that there could not be processes of normalization as long as such measures continue in breach of international law.”
A US Congressional delegation visiting Israel said it was “skeptical” that hawkish Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government would be able to move the peace process with the Palestinians ahead.
The five-person delegation from the sub-committee on the Middle East was headed by Congressman Gary Ackerman, considered one of Israel’s greatest friends on Capitol Hill.
The representatives had tough questions for the Israelis on construction in West Bank settlements and protested Israel’s intention to continue building.
They also expressed great concern over the siege on Gaza, noting that the civilian population was suffering greatly from a lack of food and medicine.
-Agencies