The Fahd Peace Plan, also known as the Fahd Peace Initiative and Fez Initiative, was a peace proposal presented by then Saudi Crown Prince

Fahd of Saudi Arabia Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1975 to 1982. He was t ...

in 1981 and officially submitted during the Arab League summit in Morocco's city of Fez in November that year. Possibly the first bid to solve the conflict following the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979, the plan was designed to resolve the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

and establish lasting peace in the region. Made by eight-point proposal, the plan has suggested that "all states in the region should be able to live in peace in the region." Within its provisions, it was included Israeli withdrawal from "all Arab territory occupied in 1967", including Arab Jerusalem, dismantling of

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

s built on "Arab land" after 1967, a "guarantee of freedom of worship for all religions in Holy Places", an "affirmation of the right of the Palestinian Arab people to return to their homes and compensation for those who do not wish to return", and the creation of an "independent Palestinian State" with

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

as its capital and putting the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

under the "auspices of the United Nations for a period not exceeding several months".

Eight Point Peace Plan

The points of the Peace Plan: # Israel to withdraw from all Arab territory occupied in 1967, including Arab Jerusalem. # Israeli settlements built on Arab land after 1967 to be dismantled, including those in Arab Jerusalem. # A guarantee of freedom of worship for all religions in the Holy Places. # An affirmation of the right of the Palestinian Arab people to return to their homes and compensation for those who do not wish to return. # The West Bank and the Gaza Strip to have a transitional period under the auspices of the United Nations for a period not exceeding several months. # An independent Palestinian State should be set up with Jerusalem as its capital. # All States in the region should be able to live in peace in the region. # The United Nations or Member States of the United Nations to guarantee the carrying out of these provisions.

Presentation and reactions

The Fahd Peace Plan was presented at the 8th Arab League summit in

Fez, Morocco Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes, Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the List of cities in Morocco, largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to ...

, in November 1981, and it sparked disagreements among the parties. It was only during the sessions of the 12th summit of the organization, held again in Fez in September 1982, that the proposal was endorsed as the Fez Initiative, after including a reference to the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

, and it became the official position of the

Arab states The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

regarding the conflict. However, the Israeli government at the time, led by

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

, did not accept the plan and rejected its provisions. Nevertheless, the Fahd Peace Plan laid a foundation for further discussions on peace in the Middle East and influenced other peace initiatives in the region, such as the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which also aimed at a comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

References

{{Arab–Israeli diplomacy Israeli–Palestinian peace process Diplomatic conferences in Morocco 1981 in international relations 1982 in international relations 1981 conferences 1982 conferences 1981 in Morocco 1982 in Morocco

Eight Point Peace Plan

Presentation and reactions

See also

References