Rejecting American appeals for immediate Arab gestures to normalise relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia has urged Israel to take tangible moves to achieve peace in the Middle East. “Incrementalism and the step-by-step approach have not, and we believe will not, achieve peace,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said in joint press conference with his US counterpart Hillary Clinton. “Temporary security, confidence-building measures will also not bring peace.”
The Obama administration has been mounting pressures on Arab countries to normalise relations with Israel to help advance peacemaking. US peace envoy to the Middle East George J. Mitchell has travelled almost monthly to the region to encourage Arab countries take gestures towards Israel. Obama has also backed that effort by writing private letters to Arab leaders making the case for “confidence-building measures”. The Saudi foreign minister urged Israel to first respond to the Arab peace initiative. “The question is not what the Arab world will offer,” Prince Al-Faisal said. “The question really is: what will Israel give in exchange for this comprehensive offer,” he said, referring to the Saudi-sponsored Arab peace initiative.