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Regional and civil initiatives ·

Arab Peace Initiative

An official initiative of the Arab League: an offer adopted by the Arab states and addressed to Israel. It is not an agreement, and Israel has not accepted it.

In 30 seconds

At the Beirut summit in March 2002 the Arab League adopted a proposal by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. If Israel withdraws to the 1967 lines, accepts a Palestinian state and an agreed solution for the refugees, the Arab states would consider the conflict ended and establish normal relations with it1.

Where it stands today

As of October 2026 the initiative remains an offer: no Israeli government has formally accepted it2, and no permanent-status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are under way4. The 2025 New York Declaration still names it as one of the tools for mobilising support for peace3.

In one sentence

To offer Israel a comprehensive deal: withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967 and a Palestinian state, in return for peace and normal relations with all Arab states.

The challenge

In March 2002 the Second Intifada was at its height and Israeli–Palestinian negotiations were frozen. Until then the Arab League, as one body, had never offered normal relations with Israel.

The initiative tried to change the calculation: to promise Israel peace with the whole Arab world rather than with one neighbour, and to promise the Palestinians and Syria that the price would be full withdrawal1.

The road there

  1. The Arab League summit in Beirut adopts the initiative proposed by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah1.
  2. An Arab League delegation in Washington, led by Qatar's prime minister, voices support for minor, comparable and mutually agreed land swaps2.
  3. The New York Declaration commits to mobilising support for peace, among other means through the Arab Peace Initiative3.

The people

What was proposed

  • Full Israeli withdrawal from the Arab territories occupied in 1967, including the Golan Heights to the line of 4 June 1967 and the territory it still holds in southern Lebanon1.
  • A just and agreed solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 1941.
  • An independent, sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital1.
  • In return: the Arab states would consider the Arab–Israeli conflict ended and establish normal relations with Israel as part of a comprehensive peace1.
  • The initiative rejects any permanent resettlement of Palestinian refugees in host countries that conflicts with those countries' special circumstances1.
  • A special Arab League committee is to seek support for the initiative from the UN, the United States, Russia, the Muslim states and the European Union1.

Read the document

The geography

100%
Map of the region by type of relations with IsraelEgyptJordanUAEBahrainMoroccoSudanSyriaLebanonSaudi ArabiaIsraelPalestinians

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Layers · Legend
  • Peace treaty in force
  • Normalization (Abraham Accords)
  • Announced, not concluded
  • Interim agreements, no permanent settlement
  • Ceasefires and talks, no peace treaty
  • No relations; Arab Peace Initiative on the table

Classification follows the original research as of 7 Oct 2026. This schematic map is not a legal boundary map or a live update.

  • Israel
  • Peace treaty in force
  • Normalization (Abraham Accords)
  • Announced, not concluded
  • Interim agreements, no permanent settlement
  • Ceasefires and talks, no peace treaty
  • No relations; Arab Peace Initiative on the table

Schematic map. Lines are approximate and are not a legal determination. Data: Natural Earth (public domain), 1:10m scale; line classification and place names by this site. Lines as of October 2026. Peace map

The hard decisions

  • According to the Washington Institute, Israeli reservations centred on the reference to Resolution 194 on refugees and on the demand for full withdrawal on all fronts to the 1967 lines2.
  • According to the same source, Israel also objected that the Arab League had never sent a full delegation to discuss the initiative with it2.
  • Israeli reactions were not uniform: Ehud Olmert praised the initiative and Tzipi Livni expressed support, while Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu were more reserved2.
  • The text is short and general: it contains no security arrangements, maps, timetable or implementation mechanism1.

Where accounts differ

According to The Arab League
The initiative is a comprehensive offer: peace and normal relations with all Arab states in return for full withdrawal, a Palestinian state and an agreed solution for the refugees1.
According to Israeli reservations, as described by the Washington Institute
The reference to Resolution 194 and the demand for full withdrawal to the 1967 lines on all fronts are not acceptable as preconditions2.

What was carried out

—

What was not

  • The initiative never turned into negotiations or an agreement; no Israeli government adopted it2.

What remains open

  • The Abraham Accords of 2020 showed that Arab states can establish relations with Israel without the initiative's conditions being met. How much force it retains as a collective offer is an open question.
  • In 2013 an Arab League delegation accepted the principle of minor, agreed land swaps2, but the text of the initiative itself was not amended1.

Sources

  1. Primary United Nations (UNISPAL) · 28 March 2002
    Arab Peace Initiative, Beirut summit — UN document A/56/1026–S/2002/932
  2. Research The Washington Institute for Near East Policy · 2013
    Stalled Arab Peace Initiative Reaffirmed
  3. Primary Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (France) · 29 July 2025
    Déclaration de New York sur le règlement pacifique de la question de Palestine et la mise en œuvre de la solution des deux États — texte original (29 juillet 2025)
  4. Research Security Council Report · 2026
    The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question — October 2026 Monthly Forecast