Arabs link peace with statehood, DPs return: Summit spells out terms to Israel
ALGIERS, March 22: Arab leaders spelled out conditions for peace with Israel at the opening here on Tuesday of a two-day summit expected to revive a plan to normalize ties with the Jewish state and discuss sluggish reforms. The opening was marred by the last minute cancellation of the visit o Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, leaving only 13 heads of state or rulers from the 22-member Arab League to tackle a 17-point agenda. Tunisian President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa said in opening remarks that any settlement with Israel rests on the return of occupied Arab land.
“It is necessary to reaffirm strongly that peace (with Israel) is the strategic choice of all the Arab world,” and based on a land-for-peace exchange as stipulated by the Arab peace initiative, Mr Bouteflika said.
He was referring to an initiative to normalize ties with Israel in return for its pullout from all Arab land, a deal that had been initially proposed by Saudi Arabia and endorsed at the 2002 Beirut summit but rejected by Israel.
The three-point draft, based on a revamped Jordanian proposal, states that peace with Israel also depends on the creation of an independent Palestinian state and a solution to guarantee the rights of Palestinian refugees.
“Based on the Arab peace initiative, Arab countries will therefore consider the Arab-Israeli conflict over and will set up normal ties with Israel within the framework of a comprehensive peace,” a copy said.
The Arab League chief warned for his part that peace with Israel depends on a commitment by the Jewish state to respect the rights of the Palestinian and other Arabs.
“Israel believes that rights will be forgotten... and that the Arabs will normalize with nothing in return,” Amr Mussa said.
“Commitments must be met with commitments and then we can reach balanced ties (in) parallel with a complete (Israeli) withdrawal and the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Mr Mussa added.
The president of Tunisia, who hosted last year’s summit, insisted that the Arab countries want a just and comprehensive peace based on the Arab initiative, international resolutions and the Middle East roadmap.”
Before handing over the summit’s presidency to the Algerian president, Ben Ali asked Arab leaders to join him in reciting a prayer for slain former prime minister Lebanese Rafiq Hariri Hariri, killed on Feb 14 in a massive car bombing in Beirut.
Ben Ali also urged the leaders to pray for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahayan, who both died last year.
An hour into the opening session of the summit, Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi and Morocco’s King Mohamed were seen leaving the conference hall.
It was not immediately clear why they left or where they were headed, although Mr Qadhafi has frequently stormed out of Arab summits, like last year in Tunis, when he left saying he disagreed with the agenda.
Several other Arab leaders, including Jordan’s King Abdullah, are not attending the summit, which is also expected to discuss a pledge they made last year to reform their countries, amid pressure from the West.—AFP
