Arab follow-up committee calls for bolestering Jerusalem Fund
The Arab follow-up committee stemming from the Arab Summit conference, decided at its meeting yesterday under Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, to raise a recommendation before the forthcoming Arab summit conference on earmarking 40 million dollars for the Palestinian national authority, so as to meet salaries of the Palestinian government.
The committee decided to submit a recommendation to the summit on authorizing Arab countries to contribute to the budget of Jerusalem and Intifada funds in coordination with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) for establishing projects which are needed by the Palestinian people.
The committee, whose meetings are attended by foreign ministers of nineteen countries along with the Arab League Secretary General, agreed to expand activities of AL Intifada and Jerusalem funds.
MENA learnt that the report raised by the follow up committee before the next Arab summit will deal with Arab activities in international forums and the demands to form a UN investigation committee and an international tribunal to try Israeli war criminals. The report includes issues related to the Arab boycott of Israel and means to activate it, solidarity with Syria and Lebanon against Israeli threats and making the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone.
The Arab follow-up committee's report further called for setting up a panel of experts to study means of implementing the pan-Arab summit's resolution to permit importing Palestinian commodities to Arab states without any restrictions and to exempt them from customs, MENA learnt.
The panel will suggest solutions to technical problems encountering importing to Palestinian areas and mulling measures to lodge a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and International organizations against the economic sanctions imposed on Palestinian areas.
The report will refer to documents received by the follow-up committee from the Arab league on the 121.9 million riyals presented by the Intifada support committee in Saudi Arabia in direct assistance to the Palestinian territories.
On providing international protection for the Palestinian people, the committee will underscore Arab efforts in the Security Council and the UN General Assembly in this respect through coordination with European countries and Russia.
The committee will stress removal of Israeli settlements, which now represent military bases and springboards for Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
The report, to be issued by the follow-up committee, will hail the Tunisian, Oman, Qatar and Moroccan measures to shut up Israeli liaison offices in their capitals.
The report will also underline the importance of forming a committee for Arab legal experts to begin documenting the Israeli crimes and gathering evidence as a step towards demanding the formation of a tribunal to try Israeli war criminals.
The follow-up committee will call for making political moves in the vein of holding the conference of the fourth Geneva convention, on the deplorable conditions of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
The report of the committee will warn of the Israeli threats leveled against Syria and Lebanon for their impact on international stability and peace.
The report will consider such threats as an offence against the Arab nation and will call on the international community and the United Nations Security Council to reject and denounce such threats.