Report: Obama-Abdullah Middle East plan similar to Arab initiative

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Amid much speculation over US President Barack Obama's upcoming address to the Muslim world, the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi published a report on Wednesday outlining the details of his plan for the Middle East. According to the report, the US president's initiative, which was formulated in consultation with Jordanian King Abdullah II during the two leaders' recent meetings at the White House, does not significantly stray from the pan-Arab peace initiative. Rather, it bolsters certain details within the Saudi-proposed plan. The Obama-Abdullah plan, according to al-Quds al-Arabi, was put together in response to concerns from both Israel and the US that the Arab plan was too general and intransigent. The initiative, which Obama is expected to present in his Cairo speech in three weeks, reportedly sets out conditions for a demilitarized Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital. The matter of borders would be solved by territorial exchanges between Israel and the Palestinians, and the Old City would become an international zone. The plan also allows for a limited Palestinian "right of return."