Saudi Plan Grabs Notice

The Bush administration is displaying increased enthusiasm for Saudi Arabia’s outline of a peace plan for the Middle East. The vague Saudi proposal has also been seized on by Arab nations, perhaps with excessive zeal. But if it helps walk Israel and the Palestinians back from the brink of all-out war, the United States should roll out the red carpet.

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah has offered to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied since the 1967 Middle East war. As the guardian of Islam’s holiest sites, Saudi Arabia wields great influence in the region. Saudi officials have also expressed willingness to recognize Israeli sovereignty over parts of Jerusalem, a chief point of contention between Israel and the Palestinians.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell first described the idea as a “minor development,” and some critics called it a ploy to improve tattered Saudi relations with the U.S. This week Powell shifted to characterizing it as an “important step.” However, Wednesday’s surprise diatribe in the United Nations by Saudi Arabia’s ambassador, who repeated the standard anti-Israeli vitriol, raised the question of which Saudi to heed. That was especially true because the ambassador’s harangue came soon after an Abdullah aide in Washington said the kingdom wanted to show Israel that peace was possible.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who has fumbled numerous chances for peace and has been increasingly marginalized, endorsed the Saudi initiative, as did leaders of several Arab nations.

A European Union diplomat said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told him he wanted more information and would be willing to meet with officials from Saudi Arabia. That is encouraging because Sharon has taken an increasingly tough stance with the Palestinians, receiving little criticism from Washington in the process. The Israeli prime minister is being pressured by hard-liners who want Israel to reassert control over more of the West Bank and Gaza. But he also has had to confront the refusal of some reserve army officers to serve in the occupied territories and a call by 1,000 former army officers for a unilateral withdrawal from those territories.

There have been Palestinian and Israeli objections to the Saudi proposal, which clearly is little more than a starting point. But if it does launch a process to end the fighting that has killed nearly 300 Israelis and nearly 900 Palestinians over 17 months, it should be welcomed. A Saudi distancing from the remarks of the kingdom’s U.N. ambassador would be especially welcome.

In the end, peace will be up to Israel and the Palestinians. But a lasting calm will require that Israelis see their borders as secure, defensible and recognized by Arab nations. The Saudi plan bolsters U.S. efforts to end this frustrating conflict. The U.S. response should be that the more help from allies in the Mideast and Europe, the better.