RIYADH, March 28: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah on Wednesday described the presence of US forces in Iraq as an ‘illegitimate foreign occupation’, drawing an immediate rejoinder from the White House that `the US soldiers are in Iraq because the Iraqi nation invited them’.

King Abdullah made the remarks on the opening day of the Arab League summit here. The king also called for lifting the ‘international blockade’ against the Palestinians.

Calling upon Muslim governments to do their bit to end the bloodshed in Iraq, the king said: "In beloved Iraq, blood is being shed in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation, and ugly sectarianism threatens civil war."

If Arab leaders recover trust in each other and regain their credibility, `the winds of hope will blow on the nation, and then, we will not allow forces from outside the region to determine our future, and only the flag of Arabism will be raised on Arab soil’, King Abdullah said.

The Arab leaders are expected to discuss draft resolutions on a number of pressing issues. The most important among them is relaunching of the Middle East peace initiative.

The plan offers Israel full normalisation of relations if it withdraws from all land occupied in the 1967 war, permits the creation of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees.

The opening session started with a speech by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.