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Arab summit rejects dramatic step on peace
with Israel
Pakistan
Times Monitoring Desk
ALGIERS (Algeria): A
slimmed- down
summit of Arab leaders was getting under way on Tuesday with a thin agenda
that sidestepped some glaring Middle East issues. Some had predicted the
summit would be "historic’’ in dealing with changes including huge
demonstrations in Lebanon and a Syrian military pullback there, new optimism
in the Israel-Palestinian peace process and increasing pressure for
democratic change.
But in the end, it won’t be so daring. Arab League leaders are largely
avoiding the issues of Lebanon and democratic reform, and they rejected
Jordan’s proposal for a new peace strategy that would offer Israel normal
relations and drop the traditional demand that it first return occupied Arab
lands. Instead, they’re likely to pay lip service to Syria’s concerns about
US pressure and consider reform of the Arab League itself.
Only 13 of the 22 leaders turned up for the gathering. Others were staying
away for health reasons or because of personal disputes. For example, Crown
Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler was not participating,
apparently because of the presence of Libya’s Moammar Qaddafi, whom Saudi
officials accuse of involvement in a plot to kill Abdullah.
Hosni Mubarak
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrived on Tuesday, welcomed on the tarmac
with kisses from summit host Abdelaziz Bouteflika. During preparatory talks,
Jordanian Foreign Minister Hanial-Mulqi complained about the failure of Arab
nations to adapt with changing times, delegates said.
Al-Mulqi tried in vain to persuade fellow ministers to accept his country’s
peace proposal, arguing that doing so amounted not to making concessions to
Israel but to "reality," the delegates said. Syria, Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen
led the fight to reject the Jordanian proposal.
Instead, the summit will endorse a text reaffirming a Saudi peace initiative
approved in 2002. That initiative said Arab states were prepared to
establish full diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for its full
withdrawal from occupied Arab territory, the creation of a Palestinian state
and settlement of the Palestinian refugee issue.
The Algiers summit "will not be the summit of normalization," said Abdelaziz
Belkhadem, foreign minister of Algeria, the gathering’s host. Jordan’s King
Abdullah II is staying away from the summit, apparently angered by the
dismissal of his proposal. His government had argued a new stance would
encourage Israel to make concessions in the peace process. But the rejection
doesn’t mean Jordan’s initiative is dead.
Support for Syria
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said leaders were expected
to express support for Syria "in the face of American pressures.’’ But
Syria’s troop withdrawal from Lebanon was not on the summit agenda. Arab
nations have pressed Damascus to pull its troops out of its neighbour.
Members of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s parliamentary bloc
also appealed to Arab leaders for their support, sending a telegram
demanding the formation of an international commission to investigate the
Feb 14 bombing in Beirut that killed Hariri and 17 others.
And despite pressure from Washington for democratic reform, the summit will
largely avoid the issue. Instead, the leaders are focusing on reforming the
Arab League by endorsing a plan to set up an "Arab parliament."
Israel Reax
A report from Tel Aviv says that senior Israeli official said that his
country rejects the Arab summit's peace initiative based on the return of
all occupied Arab land and the creation of a Palestinian state.
‘Unfortunately, the Arab League prefers to give this illusion of unity on
the surface by adopting resolutions that contradict with all of the advances
made, particularly by Egypt and Jordan, which is unacceptable,’ the official
in the prime minister's office said on condition of anonymity.
Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, but the
Arab League proposal adopted at the summit in Algiers conditions peace on
the return of occupied lands, the creation of a Palestinian state and the
return of Palestinian refugees.
The summit proved it is out of touch with reality and in a delicate
situation regarding developments in the Arab world, said the official.●
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