New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- Arab capitals reject Washington's script, calling it a coercive bargain that protects Israeli power.

The sales pitch from Washington arrives with familiar swagger. It is framed as a comprehensive plan to end a war. It reads like a pressure instrument to protect Israeli freedom of action and to box Palestinians into a narrow corner. In Egypt, where Arab, Turkish and Qatari envoys have done the unglamorous work of keeping channels alive, the American plan is not a breakthrough. It is a test of whether the strongest military backer of one party can referee the terms of a ceasefire it has never truly supported. For now, the answer is no.

The choreography that American officials advertise as balanced is anything but. It ...