A generation ago, Israelis probably would have lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the visit of two high-level representatives of the Arab League to Jerusalem, the first of its kind. But the event barely made it into the first half of Israel's TV newscasts, reflecting disappointment over years of failed peacemaking.
The message from the Wednesday talks was one that would never have been heard a generation ago -- a pan-Arab plan for peace with Israel, offering the country "security, recognition and acceptance" by its Middle East neighbors in exchange for withdrawal from the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan were taken deep into Israel's political heartland, seeing the prime minister and the president and visiting the parliament.
While the Israeli and Arab officials greeted each other with smiles, jokes and what looked like genuine warmth, both sides acknowledged that the Arab League peace proposal cannot bypass direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
"This serious offer constitutes a major opportunity of historical levels," Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah Khatib said at a news conference alongside Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Egypt's Ahmed Aboul Gheit. "It will provide Israel with the security, recognition and acceptance in this region which Israel has long aspired to."
He said the plan was endorsed not only by the Arab League, but also by non-Arab Muslim states.
Israel has welcomed the proposal as a basis for negotiations but says parts of it are unacceptable.
After pulling out of the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel rejects a full withdrawal from the West Bank and east Jerusalem, hoping to retain areas heavily settled by Israelis.
Israel objects to the plan's implied call for the repatriation of Palestinians who became refugees in the 1948 Mideast war and their descendants -- some 4.4 million people today, according to the UN. Israel says any large-scale influx of refugees would mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state.
Livni said the way forward was to look for points of agreement between Israel and the Arab world while seeking a bilateral solution to core issues such as the refugees and the status of Jerusalem.
"I think it would be a mistake today ... to start arguing about every clause" of the plan, she said, pointing out that its central tenet, formation of an independent Palestinian state living in peace next to Israel, was shared by the Israeli government and moderate Arab states.
"We are not being asked to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians," Aboul Gheit said.
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