Israeli PM tells ministers he'll "never" accept original Arab Peace Initiative: report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers from his right-wing Likud party on Monday that Israel will not accept the original Arab Peace Initiative as the basis for peace with the Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

Netanyahu told members of his Likud party in a closed meeting that the current formulation of the Arab Peace Initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and adopted by the Arab League, is not acceptable, and in order for Israel to accept it some changes must be made, the Ha'aretz daily reported.

"If the Arab states understand that they need to amend the Arab Peace Initiative in line with the changes that Israel demands, then we will have something to discuss," Netanyahu said, according to the report which cited two sources who attended the meeting.

He added that if they propose the original 2002 initiative, and say "take it or leave it," then Israel will go with "leave it."

As for the changes Israel demands, Netanyahu told his party members that the positive aspects of the initiative is the Arab states' willingness to normalize ties with Israel, but he denounces the "negative elements" including the demand that Israel withdraw to its borders prior to the 1967 War and the issue of the Palestinian refugees who fled Israel in the 1948 war.

Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights territories from neighboring Arab states during the 1967 Middle East War.

Under the 2002 Saudi initiative, all Arab states would sign peace deals with Israel and normalize ties with it if Israel reaches a peace deal with the Palestinians and a Palestinian state is established, on the basis of the 1967 borderlines with territory swap and with an agreed solution to the issue of the refugees.

Two weeks ago, upon the inauguration of hawkish Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu expressed a positive stance toward the Arab Peace Initiative.

"The overall Arab peace initiative includes positives ingredients that can help in recovering constructive negotiations with the Palestinians," Netanyahu told reporters then.

He said the initiative must be updated to "reflect the dramatic changes" that took place in the region since 2002, while keeping "the agreed-upon goal of two states for two people."

Netanyahu and Lieberman then both welcomed statements made last month by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who supported restarting peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians with the mediation of Arab states, with Egypt chiefly among them.

These statements come amid Israel's objection of a proposed French peace summit, which France hopes to conduct later this year, hoping it to be a forum that would lead to the resumption of the peace talks.

While Palestinians expressed their support for the French initiative, Israeli officials repeatedly stated that international forums do not lead to direct negotiations, and will give excuses for the Palestinians to avert direct talks altogether.

The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, mediated by the United States, ended abruptly in April 2014 without results.

The international push to restart peace talks comes following nine months of ongoing violence, which claimed the lives of 32 Israelis and 205 Palestinians, and as Israel is headed by one of its most right-wing governments to-date. Endit