Divided Arab Leaders Hold Reconciliation Meeting in Kuwait

 
Source: Al-Manar TV, 19-1-2009

... And on the 24th day on the "Israeli" deadliest war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and a few hours after a ceasefire was announced in the besieged strip marking another victory for the Resistance pattern in the region, the Arab leaders were "finally" able to hold an "Arab Summit" amid an unprecedented Arab division.

All the Arabs, including the so-called "moderate" ones, were represented in the Kuwait Summit, days after they rejected to participate in a Qatari-suggested summit over Gaza, resulting in the failure of reaching the needed quorum. Meanwhile, the summit was marked by a reconciliation lunch meeting in which Saudi King gathered leaders of Egypt, Syria, Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait. A Syrian well-informed source told Al-Manar that the meeting was frank and sincere.

Initially intended to focus solely on the regional economy and to be non-political, the summit has been renamed "The summit for solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza." Arab leaders are set to discuss how to deal with the Palestinian issue following the ceasefire in Gaza and whether to proceed with so-called peace initiatives that have so far made no solid progress.

Several Arab countries, especially Syria and Qatar, are expected to press for the endorsement of recommendations made at the Doha meeting, particularly with regard to severing ties with "Israel" and suspending the Arab peace initiative. Egypt and Jordan, the only Arab countries to have official ties with "Israel", are not likely to agree to such proposals.

The summit is, however, expected to approve a two-billion-dollar fund for the rebuilding of Gaza, which was badly battered by the "Israeli" offensive but Sheikh Sabah said the reconstruction should be done through an international effort.

Meanwhile, Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah opened the summit with a demand for collective Arab measures setting out "practical steps to stabilize the ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip. The "Israeli" offensive on Gaza is a "war crime and a crime against humanity", he said, calling for "those responsible to be held accountable. Sheikh Sabah urged Arab unity, insisting that "we have no option but to be united." But, in the first sign of disparities, he said the "Arab peace initiative still forms the clear foundation for the Arab position," for a durable settlement to the Palestinian cause.

For his part, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that "Israel" should be branded a terrorist state for its 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip. "Arabs should declare an unequivocal support for the Palestinian resistance ... I call on the Arab summit to officially declare "Israel" as a terrorist state for the crime it did in Gaza," Assad said. "Ceasefire does not mean the end of aggression as the invading forces are still in Gaza," the Syrian leader said, urging "Arab solidarity... for our causes."

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that the Gaza tragedy, clearly and regretfully, revealed the Arab divisions and contradictions. "Arab disputes will not hinder a solution and Egypt wants to put an end to these disputes," he said. "We support the right to resistance, but feel it should be responsible. We believe resistance, such as the decision to start a war, should be responsible and should be subject to profit and loss calculations," he claimed, adding that the Rafah passage will remain open for relief aid and injured citizens.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa expressed his support of the diplomatic steps some Arab countries took against "Israel". "Closing the "Israeli" representative in Doha and closing the Mauritanian embassy in "Israel" are steps that should not only be admired, but be supported," he said. Mussa also called to reform inter-arab relations before the arab ship sinks.

United Nations Secretary General also addressed the summit and announced that he will send a high level delegation to assess the humanitarian situation in Gaza within 10 days. "We want to guarantee that every child lives a life with dignity with his family," he said. "This is our commitment to you, and this is what UN employees are working for in this region, as well as the peacekeeping forces," he added. "The most important challenge for Arab leaders is to prevent another tragedy in Gaza," he warned.

Saudi King King Abdullah announced that Saudi Arabia will donate one billion dollars for the reconstruction of Gaza. "I honestly tell you that our political differences helped the "Israeli" enemy," he said, urging Arabs to overcome differences. "We should cooperate, without any exception, for the Palestinians' blood and dignity," the Saudi King told the Arab leaders, declaring the opening of a new page in the Arab relations.

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, whose term has ended on January 9, called for the formation of a national unity government between his Fatah movement and its Hamas rivals followed by simultaneous presidential and legislative elections. "What is required today ... is to form a (Palestinian) national unity government which will then conduct presidential and legislative elections simultaneously," Abbas said at an Arab economic summit in Kuwait. "What is needed and necessary now is that all Palestinians should meet to reach an agreement," Abbas said.
Seventeen Arab heads of state are attending the two-day summit while another five countries are represented at senior official level.