Israel scorns America’s unprecedented peace plan

Israel’s triumpHpa in the Six Day War of 1967 was met by the “three nos” at an Arab summit in Khartoum: no peace with Israel, no recognition, no negotiations. The seems to be having the opposite effect, American officials say. Saudi Arabia, the most important Arab state, is saying yes to peace, negotiations and recognition of the Jewish state—if Israel agrees to a “clear and credible pathway” to the creation of a Palestinian state in the and Gaza Strip, which it occupied in 1967. There may be two more yeses on offer: yes to Arab security assurances to Israel, beyond diplomatic relations; and yes to Arab states’ help with reforming the Palestinian Authority () so it is fit to run Gaza.Such is the message carried to Israel this week by Antony Blinken, America’s secretary of state, —his fifth regional tour since Hamas’s attack of October 7th. But to judge from the scornful reaction of Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel is now the naysayer.