Arab summit draws mixed reaction

There is mixed reaction in the region's press to the outcome of the Arab summit in Saudi Arabia, which revived proposals for a comprehensive peace with Israel.

While some Arab commentators hail the summit as a great success, others are highly critical of what they say was a summit guided by US "directives" rather than Arab interests.

Some criticise Israel's reaction to the Arab proposals, while in Israel itself commentators greet the initiative mostly with scepticism.

EDITORIAL in SAUDI ARABIA'S AL-RIYADH

The final statement succeeded in putting forth the current priorities that do not accept weak formulas in front of the options of success or failure. Overcoming obstacles has given an Arab and international impression that the leaders of this nation have the ability to undertake their ethical responsibilities.

RAGHIDAH DARGHAM in PAN-ARAB AL-HAYAT

Owing to its achievements, the Arab [peace] initiative summit held in Riyadh this week has taken the initiative away from the masters of abuse and exaggerations and put the "No" camp in a defensive and offensive position at the same time... This summit has retaken the initiative and the reigns away from the camp of radicalism which offers nothing but rejection and a permanent "No".

ABD-AL-BARI ATWAN in PAN-ARAB AL-QUDS AL-ARABI

The summit has adopted unprecedented Western decisions which reflect the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice's directives such as the dissemination of the culture of moderation and the changing of the education curriculum... It appears that moderation means to accept the Jewish state and not to protest against it. It appears that the talk about a peace initiative is a label for waging war in the region.

EDITORIAL IN PAN-ARAB AL-ARAB AL-ALAMIYAH

Here goes another summit without any tangible outcome except for the uprooting of the meaning of realism to mean permanent readiness to compromise. Other summits too will pass unnoticed if Arab action continues to be mortgaged to foreign directives.

EDITORIAL in PALESTINIAN AL-QUDS

We are concerned that the reinvigoration of the [Arab peace] initiative will lead to Israeli-Arab contacts either via committees or international umbrellas such as the Quartet. This would allow Israel to achieve what it wants without making any commitments and without a real acceptance of the initiative.

YAHYA RABAH in PALESTINIAN AL-HAYAT AL-JADIDAH

Israel has done its best to derail the train of peace and completely block the path in front of it by following policies that would make it impossible to establish a Palestinian state. After all this, it comes up to stir such an argument by asking to amend the [Arab peace] initiative as a condition for accepting it.

EDITORIAL in OMAN DAILY

The results of the 19th Arab summit that was concluded yesterday in the Saudi capital of Riyadh brought many positive resolutions that serve the process of joint Arab work ... which activate Arab work and push it forward in the light of the big challenges faced by the Arab nation.

EDITORIAL in EGYPT'S AL-JUMHURIYAH

Israel was quick in reiterating its rejection of the Arab peace initiative while the Riyadh summit was still in session. Israel objects to the initiative's reference to the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, which is the right decided by the international legitimacy since the usurpation of Palestine and until now.

AYMAN AL-SAFADI in JORDAN'S AL-GHAD

Israel did not wait long to announce its rejection of the peace initiative, which the Arabs reiterated their adherence to it in the Riyadh summit yesterday. It does not waste time. It knows very well that the success of the Arabs in launching a convincing political attack will deprive it of the ability to continue blaming the Arabs for the responsibility of the death of the peace process.

DORE GOLD in ISRAEL'S JERUSALEM POST

Adopting the Saudi plan as presented would lead to the re-division of Jerusalem. It would also strip Israel of the 'defensible borders' that Bush said was Israel's right in his April 2004 letter to prime minister Ariel Sharon.

SMADAR PERI in ISRAEL'S YEDIOT AHARONOT

After the leaders of the Arab world approved the 'full peace plan' yesterday, the ball returns to the Arab court. Now the burden of proof falls on them and them alone... Suffice it to see yesterday the radiant smile on the face of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who announced his satisfaction with the Riyadh summit, to understand that there are no sensational surprises.

>EDITORIAL in ISRAEL'S JERUSALEM POST

For a two-state plan to be viable, the parallel evolution that needed to happen on the Palestinian side was to abandon the notion of "return" to Israel, rather than to a Palestinian state... If Israel's sovereignty is to mean anything, then Palestinians can have no more right to move to Israel than Israelis would to a future Palestine. The Arab states, if they want peace, need to be saying this.

TZVI BAR'EL in ISRAEL'S HA'ARETZ

What did unite the Arab leaders was the historic text of the 2002 Beirut summit, which included the Arab peace initiative. A steadfast refusal by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but not Jordan, to make any changes to the text transformed it into a "sacred text" that will be used as the platform of Arab agreement in any future process between Israel and the Arab states.

HASSAN THABIT in QATAR'S AL-WATAN

The summit has ended, but Arab problems did not end and will not end unless all parties realize that there is a pressing need for political, economic and social reforms that have been waiting for a long time.

SAMIH SHUBAYB in PALESTINIAN AL-AYYAM

Saudi Arabia will try after the summit, that unanimously endorsed the Arab initiative, to find a mechanism for an Arab move vis-à-vis the US in an attempt to affect it so that it would deal positively with the initiative. It will also try to extend its diplomatic hand to Israel to make it understand the importance of a positive dealing with the Arab initiative.

RAMI KHURI in JORDAN TIMES

Israel-America wants the Arabs to make more concessions, gestures and overtures even before Israel has made any reciprocal moves of equal magnitude. It wants all Arab governments, even novel elected ones like the Hamas-led Palestinian government, to pledge recognition of Israel before they can even be engaged as legitimate players in the peace-making game.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.