Arab consensus on supporting Palestinians, Summit to be held Annually

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak Saturday opened the Emergency Arab (Aqsa Intifada) Summit with 14 kings, Presidents and Emirs participating as well as representatives of the rest of Arab states.

Arab leaders' speeches stressed rallying Arab ranks, coordinating stances and extending financial and political support for the Palestinians.

The leaders concurred that sticking to peace as a strategic option does not mean giving up Arab rights on the basis of international legitimacy as represented in Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and UN General Assembly Resolution 194 related to the Palestinian refugees' right of return.

The Arab leaders agreed on condemning Israel's terrorist practices and armed aggression on the defenseless Palestinians in while the region was getting ready to broker a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians, they warned the Israeli government against practices threatening the region's security and stability.

President Mubarak called on Israel to realize that peace is the only means for achieving development of nations and that oppression can never make security.

The President said : "It is now time for all parties, particularly Israel, to realize that peace is the normal condition for human life and the only means for the development of peoples and advancement of nations; that oppression can never make security, nor can aggression generate peace".

President Mubarak said that security is an equal right for all parties. He affirmed that Israeli actions, undoubtedly, push peace into a difficult predicament and a real ordeal.

He added that some circles in Israel seem to have misunderstood and underestimated the Arab stand within the new world order.

Taking the floor, Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat said that the main reason for the convening of the Arab summit is the Israeli practices in the Palestinian lands.

Israeli opposition Likud Party Leader Ariel Sharon's visit to Al-Haram Al-Sharif was not a mere visit as it came in agreement with the Israeli government to create a new dimension of the Arab-Israeli conflict, namely the religious one, he added.

"This step was taken after the Palestinian warning in Camp David negotiations against desecrating religious sanctities," he said adding that he warned the Israelis and Americans of the gravity of Sharon's visit.

"The Palestinian Intifada (uprising) came as a legitimate and spontaneous expression of anger because of the violation of holy sites," he said.

"Israel's attempt to make it look like a clash between two parties has failed and the UN Security Council issued a Resolution condemning the Israeli crimes," he added.

Arafat called on the international community especially the cosponsors of the peace process and the EU and all peace-loving powers to shoulder their responsibilities towards the peace process.

The US should not only as a sponsor of the peace process but also as a major power, play its role and not permit any leniency in maintaining international legitimacy as a basis of the Middle East peace process.

He also praised the role played by US, President Bill Clinton for bringing about peace.

He called in the name of the Palestinian people for ironing inter-Arab differences and working for lifting embargo on the Iraqi people and cementing unity and integration for the sake of the children of Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

President Mubarak, then read out a message sent by President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahayan to the Arab summit, wishing he could have been present today to take part in the meeting.

Taking the floor, King Abdullah II of Jordan said that the Arab nation suffers from many differences.

Joint Arab action is required to stand up to the challenges facing the nation, he added.

"Jordan will continue to support the Palestinian people till they achieve all their aspirations mainly the establishment of their independent state on their national soil," he said.

"Jordan will also support Syria till it restores all its lands to the June 4, 1967 borders," he added.

"It is about time to put an end to the suffering of the Iraqi people," he said.

"The Arab nation is looking forward to this meeting in order to achieve the Arab peoples' aspirations," he added.

Addressing the session, Lebanese President Emil Lahoud called for unifying Arab ranks in order to liberate the Arab lands.

Lebanon went through sufferings but after unifying ranks, the Lebanese managed to liberate their lands, he added.

"The Arab leaders are required today to adopt a unified stance towards the latest developments in the Palestinian lands through bold resolutions," he said.

"No permanent, overall and just peace will be realized as long as there are occupied Arab lands," he added.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco, in his capacity as the head of Al-Quds Committee, thanked President Mubarak for calling for the Arab summit and said that the current crucial phase required the adoption of sound decisions in the interest of the Palestinian people.

"The Arab nation must lend support and all forms of assistance to the Palestinian people and their leader Yasser Arafat," he said.

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz urged Arab leaders to stand united to restore the Arab rights.

"The present situation is not in need of an option that is imposed from above, but an option that rejects to succumb to any political or military pressure," he said.

"The Arab summit must achieve its goals, primarily to support the Palestinian people by all means," he added.

President Mubarak then welcomed the Saudi proposal for the establishment of two funds, one to care for the families of the martyrs of Intifada and the other to maintain the Arab Identity in East Jerusalem.

Tunisian President Zine El-Abdidine Bin Ali told Arab leaders that the Arab nation was facing serious challenges, due to current events in the Palestinian territories, which jeopardize the security of the region and threaten to bring back the specter of war and armed conflicts.

Tunisia reiterates its absolute support for the struggle of the brotherly Palestinian people and their steadfastness in the face of occupations.

Somali President Abdel Qassim Salad Hasan, who attends the Arab summit for the first time as President, said the killings and annihilation of Palestinian people is what led to this situation.

He called on the UN Security Council to interfere and stop the Israeli aggression at once. He also called for a firm Arab stance in the face of Israeli arrogance.

President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh appealed for a firm and concerted Arab stance in the face of the grave situation on Palestinian lands and the desecration of sanctities.

Taking the floor, Deputy Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council Ezza Ibrahim said that his country's stance calls for liberating Palestine and the other occupied Arab territories through Jihad (Holy War).

The so-called peaceful solution only led to disappointments, he added.

"The Arabs can pursue a policy that makes America give up its policies in support of Israel," he said.

He expressed thanks to President Mubarak for his invitation to the summit and for his efforts.

Sudanese President Omar AL Basher said in an address to the inaugural session of the Emergency Arab Summit that the summit was held in time.

Despite the fact that events in the Palestinian lands accelerated the holding of the summit, President Mubarak has been always calling for it to discuss problems of the Arab nation, he added.

"Israel's provocative practices and Judization plans require a pause to review and agree on a well-studied drive for restoring the Arab rights, preserving Jerusalem, helping the Palestinian people set up their state with Jerusalem as its capital, and lifting the embargo on Iraq and supporting Syria to recover the Golan heights," he said.

"Jihad (Holy War) is the only way to restore the usurped Arab rights," he added.

He called for freezing political and economic normalization with Israel and for supporting the Palestinian people.

Addressing the inaugural session, Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Maguid said the Intifada (uprising) is an expression of rejection of the Israeli crimes.

The Arab peoples are looking forward to resolutions and measures to be adopted and taken by the Arab summit to support of the Palestinian people and the embodiment of peace as a strategic option for restoring all the Arab rights, he added.

"The International Community is required to fully shoulder its responsibility in pressurizing the Israeli occupation to abide by peace," he said.

"That requires an effective joint action that would be achieved only by meeting on regular basis to adopt resolutions that support the Arab issues," he added.

Taking the floor, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said that normalization with Israel by some Arab countries under US pressure served Israel not the states that set up relations with it.

Yemen is an advocate of an overall peace, he underlined, adding that the Palestinian people are not in need of denunciation and condemnation but they need financial and popular support by all Arab countries.

"We are not advocates of war but of resistance," he said.

He called on the Arabs to lift the embargo imposed on the Iraqi people without waiting for the UN as that is part of the legitimate rights of the Iraqi people, women and children.

In his speech to the inaugural session of the Emergency Arab Summit, Syrian President Bashar AL Assad said that Sharon is not the only one responsible for the deteriorating situation in the occupied lands as Israeli Premier Ehud Barak is also an accessory.

He added that the one thousand Israeli soldiers who guarded Sharon during his provocative visit to AL Harm AL Sharif are under the command of Barak, who is also the Israeli Defense minister.

He stressed that Israel should pay for the Palestinian bloodshed.

"The optimum option is that of peace with force," he said.

"It is not required to declare war. But we need the implementation of resolutions to compel Israel to abide by just and overall peace to ensure bringing about stability in the area and restoring the Palestinian rights," he added.

He called for setting up a national fund for supporting the Palestinians to be financed by the Arab States' contributions.

He also called for freezing all forms of normalization with Israel.