A retired Saudi general, Anwar Eshki, has led a group of Saudi businessmen and academics on a rare visit to Israel in part “to promote the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.”
Netanyahu in past months has called for a new “peace” process based on an amended version of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
The Arab League, which has endorsed the plan, has said that it is not interested in amending it. Among the items Israel would like to change is the process laid out in the so-called peace plan, which offers Israel normalized ties after a final status agreement is reached with the Palestinians. Israel would like to normalize ties with its Arab neighbors first, with the idea that it would help pressure the Palestinians to arrive at a deal with Israel.
The show challenged the argument that for Israel to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians that Arab states need to make peace with Israel first.