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 ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...

in 1981 and officially submitted during the Arab League summit in Morocco's city of

Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

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 an ongoing intercommunal phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century, but had mostly faded out by the ...

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, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

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 (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

as its capital and putting the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

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 The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

Fez, Morocco Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès, Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the List of cities in Morocco, second largest city i ...

, 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; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...

, and it became the official position of the

Arab states The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...

regarding the conflict. However, the

Israeli government The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...

at the time, led by

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

, 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