Emergency meeting by AL Council on Saturday
The Arab League agreed to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday at the level of permanent delegates upon requests of Lebanon and Syria to the dangerous situation in the aftermath of the Israeli aggression on a Syrian military site in Lebanon.
The Arab League Spokesman Talaat Hammed said the League will discuss the results of the Israeli aggression and means to prevent its recurrence.
Meanwhile, Arab League (AL) Secretary General Esmat Abdul Maguid had intensive consultations and contacts yesterday with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq Al-Shara and a number of Arab Foreign Ministers to prepare for the Arab League Council meeting on Saturday to adopt a unified stance supporting Lebanon and Syria in face of the Israeli aggression.
Arab League Assistant Secretary General for Palestinian Affairs Sa'ed Kamal told Al-Ahram that the Arab League Council meeting aims at exposing pretexts of the Israeli government to intimidate peoples of the region.
He said that the Arab League would confirm to the terrorist Ariel Sharon that all Israeli means to terrorize peoples are doomed to failure.
Jordan's delegate to the Arab League also told al-Ahram that the Israeli aggression is unjustified, adding that violence begets violence.
He said that the Israeli aggression on the Lebanese territories and the Syrian military sites in Lebanon is completely rejected and poses a threat to the peace process in the region.
On the other hand, Abdul Maguid on Wednesday praised statements President Hosni Mubarak made on Tuesday in which he rapped Israeli policies.
Mubarak warned that the Israeli government, under Ariel Sharon, is adopting a dangerous policy that would negatively affect the whole region.
Abdul Maguid described as positive the recent US stance and branded Sharon as a war criminal. Sharon was involved in a 1982 massacre of Palestinians in two refugee camps near Beirut.
President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika conferred on the Arab League Chief Algeria's highest medal in appreciation of his relentless efforts for advocating Arab rights.
Bouteflika made the gesture during his opening of the 12th meetings of the Permanent Arab-African Cooperation Committee.
Bouteflika called on the committee to set new foundations for what he termed as indispensable Arab-African partnership.
Bouteflika also honoured Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Salem Ahmad Salem in recognition of his efforts for championing African causes.
Abdul Maguid voiced appreciation for African support to Arab issues, saying that he is confident that more would follow to bring a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on UN resolutions.
Abdul Maguid lauded Arab-African action as reflected in handling the Lockerbie issue and national reconciliation in Somalia. He underlined that African and Arab leaders are keen on maintaining Sudan's integrity of territories and supporting efforts to lift sanctions.
Addressing the committee, Salem renewed support to the Palestinian struggle and condemned Israeli atrocities.
He noted that African countries face grave challenges such as poverty and AIDS.
