Arab and Islamic Affairs Arafat briefs Arab Foreign Ministers on developments in occupied territories
Regional-Palestine, Politics, 8/22/2001

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat arrived in Cairo late Tuesday on a two-day visit during which he will attend the emergency meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday at the Arab League headquarters.

Arafat will post the Arab Foreign Ministers on the recent developments in the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories in light of the continued Israeli aggressions.

Arafat is expected to meet with President Hosni Mubarak for consultations over the latest developments.

Israel has been launching an all-out campaign against the Palestinians using all available weapons that vary from helicopter gunships to tanks and even f-16s in an attempt to suppress the 11-month Palestinian Intifada.

The Intifada was triggered by the deadlocked peace process and a provocative visit made by Likud leader-turned-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) in September.

The Arab Foreign Ministers meeting is attended by 17 ministers, who will call on the international community to accelerate dispatching international observers to the palestinian territories, according to Mitchell report recommendations.

The ministers who will attend the meeting are : Abdel Ilah al-Khatib of Jordan, Rashid Abdullah al-Noemi of the United Arab Emirates, al-Habib Ben Yahya of Tunisia, Abdel-Aziz bel-Khadem of Algeria, Mahmoud Ali Youssef of Djibouti, Moustafa Othman Ismail of Sudan, Farouq al-Sharaa of Syria, Naji Sabri of Iraq, Youssef Ben Alawi of Oman, Farouq Qaddomi of Palestine, Hamad ben Jassem of Qatar, Mohammad al-Sabah of Kuwait, Mahmoud Hamoud of Lebanon, Ahmed Maher of Egypt, Abu Bakr Abdullah al-Korbi of Yemen, Ould Abdy of Mauritania and Abdel Aziz al-Fadel, Bahraini Minister of State for Shura Council Affairs.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal entrusted Nazar Ben Ebeid Madani with attending the meeting.

Palestinian sources said that Arafat will ask the Arab Foreign Ministers to hold an extraordinary summit next month, through an indirect way, by Yemen or Tunisia.

Arafat will call on the Arab countries to accelerate sending the $ 40 million which was decided monthly during Amman Summit to enable the Palestinian Authority to pay its financial commitments.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa met late Tuesday with Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud.

In statements following the meeting, Hammoud voiced hope that the emergency meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers would be up to the aspirations of the Arab public opinion and the Palestinians.

The emergency meeting will be attended by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Asked about Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres's proposal on an Palestinian Israeli armistice, Hammoud said that all Israeli actions are viewed as not serving either the Palestinians' interests or Arab rights in light of previous experiences with Israel.

Moussa, meanwhile, met Tuesday this evening with Medhat Lotfi, the Director-General of the Khartoum-based Arab bank for economic development in Africa.

In statements following the meeting, lotfi said that the meeting tackled Arab-African cooperation, along with the bank's activities in non-Arab African countries.

"The bank offers financial and technical support in several domains," Lotfi said.

An Arab-African exhibition will be held in Lebanon in October, he added.

Previous Stories:
  Arab foreign ministers to hold emergency meeting on Wednesday   (8/18/2001)
  Arab information ministers approve an integrated plan to support the Intifada, withstand Israeli claims   (8/16/2001)
  Arab Foreign Ministers hold emergency meeting soon   (8/16/2001)

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