BEIRUT: A united Arab world on Thursday offered normal relations with the Jewish state for the first time since its creation in 1948, rallying behind a peace plan at a time when Israel and the Palestinians are on the brink of all-out war.

The initiative was an impressive display of unity as the Arab summit in Beirut overcame petty squabbles and the absence of several key leaders — as well as the historic resistance of states such as Syria and Iraq — to produce a unanimous vision of a new Middle East, based on a land-for-peace agreement with Israel that was drafted by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah.

It was also an appeal to Washington and the international community to stay Israel’s hand before the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, unleashes the broadest military offensive yet against the Palestinians, following the bloody bombing attack on a Passover feast that killed 20 Israelis.

Similarly, Yasser Arafat also moved to stave off an Israeli attack, offering an “unconditional ceasefire” even as the tanks rolled towards him in Ramallah from two directions.

“I assert our readiness to implement an immediate ceasefire as we have informed General Zinni,” Arafat said.

The ceasefire offer, tendered after two weeks of negotiations led by Gen Zinni, appeared unlikely to assuage Sharon’s fury. As the Israeli prime minister summoned his security cabinet — the usual prelude to military reprisal — a Palestinian raid on a Jewish settlement on the West Bank further stoked Israeli fury.

The peace initiative is straightforward. It calls on Israel to withdraw from all Arab lands occupied since the 1967 war — the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights — and to sanction the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

In return, the Arab world would declare an end to the five decades of the Arab-Israeli conflict, offering the Jewish state peace and security, and “normal relations”, a deliberately vague concept that goes beyond mere recognition of Israel, but stops short of establishing full trade and cultural contacts.

Israel’s immediate reaction was highly guarded.

The peace plan was in large measure an admission of Arab desperation at the lack of diplomatic progress towards Middle East peace after 18 months of bloody chaos in the West Bank and Gaza.

The viability of the peace initiative now hinges on Washington, which had heavily promoted Prince Abdullah’s ideas before the summit.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.