After talking peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos, former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni posted a friendly photo on Twitter that causes an explosion of hatred from Arab social media users & Arab commentators.

By Yossi Aloni

All those Arabs who claim to want peace were in an uproar this week after Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal acted peacefully toward former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

The two were in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. They participated in a panel, along with Jordan’s foreign minister, regarding the future of the Middle East.

Following the panel, al-Faisal posed for a picture with Livni, which the Israeli then posted to Twitter.

And then the storm began.

In Davos w/ Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal after discussing the region & peace process with Jordanian FM & Palestine Investment Fund Chair pic.twitter.com/XTzFHRfk15

— ציפי לבני (@Tzipi_Livni) January 20, 2017

The post garnered thousands of angry responses from social media users and Arab commentators who oppose normalization between Israel and the Arab world.

Al-Faisal has been a major proponent of the Saudi peace initiative. Israel previously accepted the initiative as a starting point for negotiations, but said there were numerous terms it could not accept.

Livni, too, has promoted the initiative as the best way forward toward peace. But in her previous role as foreign minister, she also raised concerns over some of the clauses.

For instance, the initiative calls for Israel to open its gates to millions of so-called “Palestinian refugees.” The Palestinian Authority insisted that term was a red line, and refused to come to the table if it was up for negotiation.

Rather than talk these issues out, as al-Faisal seems willing to do, many Arabs refuse to even sit at the table with Israel unless it surrenders to 100 percent of their demands.

View original Israel Today publication at:
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/31018/Default.aspx