December 31, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 02,1430

MUSCAT, Dec 30: Gulf Arab leaders, wrapping up a two-day summit on Tuesday, strongly condemned Israeli military attacks on Gaza and endorsed an agreement to set up a long-sought after monetary union that would go into effect before the end of 2009.

In a summit ostensibly aimed at discussing a unified monetary pact that would pave the way for a single currency, leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council devoted much of their time to the Israeli air strikes on Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Gulf leaders were determined to exit the meeting with a unified stance about the attacks, and their final statement reflected the widespread anger in the region.

The statement condemned “Israel’s unjustified aggression and its inhumane practices against the Palestinians” in Gaza and held Israel responsible for the recent escalation.

The 22-nation Arab League was expected to hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, and GCC officials looked to unify their stance going into that meeting. However rifts had emerged about the need for a follow-up Arab summit in Qatar on Friday on the presidential level, with some Gulf states supporting it while Arab powerhouse Saudi Arabia arguing that a “summit of statements” was a futile gesture.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah told reporters the GCC nations were committed to the Arab peace initiative, referring to the Saudi Arabian plan that called on Israel to return land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war in exchange for normal relations with Arabs.

He said council members also urged rival Palestinian factions to end their fighting and agree on a peaceful settlement with Israel that would enable them to create an independent state of their own.

The statement also said the monetary pact, which includes a unified monitory council and a central bank, will speed up their economic integration efforts. The monetary union is a crucial step towards their ultimate goal of setting up a single currency by 2010 — a date which many analysts had viewed with scepticism.—AP