Herzog: Saudis Can Play Significant Role in Jerusalem

Jerusalem, 9 January, 2018 (TPS) -- The Saudi news website Elaph published an interview with Israeli opposition leader MK Yitzhak Herzog Tuesday, in which the former Chairman of the Labor Party laid out his views of a possible all-encompassing Middle-Eastern peace plan, as well as what he considers to be Saudi-Arabia’s role in such a deal.

“When we reach the point of discussing Jerusalem and the holy sites, such as al-Aqsa, I think that Saudi-Arabia must assume a significant role, as their country contains the most significant sites in Islam, and they are experienced with [managing such sites] as Mecca and Medina,” said Herzog, who is fluent in Arabic.

Herzog told the story of the political drama that unfolded in 2016, when there were talks of a multilateral agreement between Israel and several Arab states, and Herzog was tapped to stand at the head of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to help the peace efforts.

“A secret summit was held in Aqaba between Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the King of Jordan Abdullah the 2nd, and [Secretary of State] John Kerry in order to push things forward,” Herzog said, “In March 2016, I began negotiating our joining the Government.”

“By May, we reached a point where we agreed to adopt the basic principles of the Arab Peace Initiative, to cease building outside of the settlement blocs, and to begin separating from the Palestinians.”

Herzog described his meetings with the various Arab leaders as being positive and attributed much of that to the newly aligned interests that Israel and the Arab world share following the rise of groups such as ISIS, and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear aspirations.

“The Arab states used to want to destroy the State of Israel, and now I was seeing that the Arab states want to enter a process of peace and historic reconciliation.”

According to Herzog, the regional deal was thwarted by the ideological political right, and that a minister “whom he did not wish to name”, is responsible for blocking the initiative and having Avigdor Liberman’s far right Yisrael Beitenu Party join the coalition instead of Herzog’s Labor party, essentially ending the chance for a regional deal.

“The right and the settlers put a lot of pressure on Netanyahu, who was torn between progress in achieving regional peace, and his political base,” explained Herzog, who said that since then, Netanyahu has been “afraid to take that road”.

When asked about United States President Donald Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Herzog told the Saudi website that there is not a single Israeli that disagrees with Trump’s announcement, and that an essential part of leadership is telling the truth. “Everyone knows that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The big question is what it’s borders are, and what we are to do with the 28 Palestinian villages surrounding Jerusalem, that is something we need to discuss when we reach the final stages [of an agreement], and that is what Trump said in his speech.”

In Herzog’s view, the Palestinians were dramatically overreacting to Trump’s announcement and he called upon them to “end the drama and reach an understanding”.

Herzog spoke about how he wishes to see courageous leaders such as Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat leading the Israelis and the Palestinians in their efforts to achieve peace. “What [Sadat] did was suicide, but it was bravery… He is the one who declared war on us in 1973, a war which cost us 3,000 lives, he then extended his hand to peace, and Begin answered his call.”

The interview ended with Elaph asking Herzog if such leaders could still be found, to which he answered “Sure, I believe that Avi Gabbay can lead Israel to peace.”