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Arab Leaders' Support for Mideast Peace Plan Marks a Regional Shift
(Wall Street Journal) Dion Nissenbaum - Officials in Arab capitals have been frustrated by Palestinian leaders' reluctance to compromise, which has prevented them from strengthening ties with Israel. The U.S. has wooed officials from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and other nations in the region in an effort to transcend the political impasse, and to some extent they are responding. Saudi Arabia and the UAE both urged Palestinian leaders to accept the U.S. plan as a basis for new talks with Israel. "It's the first time, I think since the start of the conflict, that the Arab position has not been a replica of the Palestinian position," said David Makovsky, director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "That speaks to a wider sense of regional priorities that the Arab countries have." The modified tone in Arab capitals is a reflection of the shifting relationships in the region, where nations officially at war with Israel are strengthening ties with its companies and leading figures.