RAMALLAH, Nov 20: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took his case for a peace deal directly to ordinary Israelis on Thursday, assuring them in Hebrew-language newspaper adverts that a withdrawal from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and parts of Jerusalem would bring them full recognition by the Arab world.

The full-page ad, published in three Israeli dailies, spells out the trade-off, first offered in the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

The ad says 57 Arab and Muslim countries will establish diplomatic ties with Israel in exchange for a withdrawal from the lands the Palestinians seek for an independent state. Underscoring the promise, dozens of colourful flags of these countries frame the ad.

It was the first time a Palestinian leader had tried to reach out to Israelis in this way, said Abbas aide Saeb Erekat.

Abbas felt that ordinary Israelis did not know enough about the Arab offer and wanted to approach them directly. “Not enough has been done to promote it,” Erekat said.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni welcomed the Arab peace plan as a positive gesture, but said its positions on key issues such as final borders, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees were not acceptable. “The Arab world understands what I say now, a peace plan is not put on the table by saying ‘take it or leave it’,” Livni told Israel Radio.

Israel is holding separate talks with the Palestinians and Syrians and has acknowledged the Arab initiative as a useful starting point in negotiations to end the Arab-Israeli conflict. Livni has been Israel’s chief negotiator with the Palestinians over the past year.

The campaign comes at a troubled time for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. A year of negotiations has not brought tangible results, and Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu says he won’t continue talks in the current format if he wins Feb 10 general elections. Opinion polls give Netanyahu a strong chance of winning.

Many Israelis are also sceptical about a peace deal, in part because the embattled Abbas no longer speaks for all Palestinians. He lost Gaza to the Islamic group Hamas in a violent 2007 takeover, two years after a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the territory.

Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortars on Israeli border towns since the pullout, and Israelis fear a West Bank withdrawal could bring more attacks.

Zvi Sternbach, an Israeli tour guide in Jerusalem, said he found the ad reassuring, but wondered whether it will have any impact. “I think it’s very refreshing, if anyone will listen to it,” he said.

The Arab initiative could help dispel such scepticism by offering Israel a much bigger prize than just a potential end to the conflict with the Palestinians. Most Arab and Muslim countries don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Israeli President Shimon Peres repeatedly has praised the plan in recent weeks, and Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said it could serve as the basis for negotiations of a regional peace agreement.

The ad ran in the Haaretz, Yediot Ahronot and Maariv dailies.

“Fifty-seven Arab and Muslim countries will forge diplomatic ties and normal relations with Israel in exchange for a full peace agreement and an end to the occupation,” reads the ad.

—AP