added, "If 300,000–400,000, or maybe a million, Palestinians would invade the country, that would be the end of the state of Israel as a Jewish state." According to the scholar, Roger Hardy, the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative was revived "because it is a starting point on the Palestinian issue that most parties can accept—although with reservations." Moreover, some have speculated that the re-initialization of the peace plan was a move to counter Iran's growing influence in the region. It was widely viewed by scholars around the world that it would be in Israel's best interest to act respectfully to Saudi Arabia's supremacy in Middle East affairs, especially if Arab states begin to line up behind an anti-Iranian position. Through positive actions, Israel could eventually become accepted into the Arab world. Obstacles to the Arab Peace Initiative Differences of principle between Israel and Arab League members over some of the elements in the proposed arrangement made it difficult to translate the initiative into an actual agreement. Moreover, the absence of an authoritative Palestinian interlocutor was another impediment to achieving peace through the Arab Peace Initiative. The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, supported the initiative, but Hamas leaders refrained from endorsing even the conditional readiness to recognize Israel. As part of an effort to bridge that gap and lay the foundation for a unified Palestinian delegation, pre-Summit preparations included diplomatic steps to establish a Palestinian national unity government. That government was sworn in on March 17, 2007 on the basis of the agreement reached in Mecca under the aegis of the so-called "Arab Quartet"—Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. The national unity government's policy guidelines include detailed political positions, including an obligation to create a Palestinian state in the territories captured by Israel in 1967 and the recognition of Arab Summit conference resolutions over the years. To that list was added Palestinian recognition of Israel, which Hamas refused to embrace. In addition, Hamas continually demands a "right of return" for all Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was quoted by Saudi media as urging Arab leaders ahead of the summit not to make concessions on the demand for the Palestinian refugees to return home. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, but Palestinian officials have agreed not to go against the peace plan. Moreover,