A senior State Department official tells the Jerusalem Post that "we’re not expecting the Israelis to do something for nothing," and then provides some more detail on some of the measures the U.S. wants the Arab states to take in exchange for a settlement freeze. From the article by Hilary Leila Krieger and Herb Keinon:
The gestures being proposed include Arab leaders taking trips to Jerusalem as well as receiving Israeli leaders in Arab capitals; Arab countries opening interest offices and increasing trade ties with the Jewish state; Arab states allowing over-flights of Israeli aircraft, which would cut down on passengers’ travel time; and joint Israeli-Arab sponsorship of cultural and humanitarian projects.
Diplomatic sources noted that they were focusing these normalization efforts on North African and Gulf states they believe most amenable to improved ties with Israel, as opposed to Saudi Arabia, seen as the custodian of Islam, whose prestige and influence in the region could ultimately prove key to sealing any deal with the Palestinians.
While there is little expectation that Saudi Arabia would take such steps at this time, the sources said, the idea was that Riyadh wouldn’t prevent others from making such gestures; in other words, they want to "prevent the Saudis from being hostile" and using their privileged role to sabotage the nascent peace efforts.
Specifically, the article names four countries, and cites particular outreach to Morocco:
In that vein, the administration has focused on Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa, countries which had ties with Israel that were broken off during the early months of the intifada and never restored, and Qatar and Oman, with whom Israel has had some official relations in the past, and the United Arab Emirates.
One diplomatic official described Morocco as being in the category of "low-hanging fruit" because of its relatively moderate government and previous relationship with Israel.
As part of the American effort to coax steps from Arab states, perhaps prodding Morocco taking a leadership role, US President Barack Obama sent a letter to Morocco’s King Muhammad VI this past weekend saying he hoped Morocco would "be a leader in bridging gaps between Israel and the Arab world."
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