Arab League insists on holding int'l conference to implement Geneva convention

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the League would go on the way of calling for holding an international conference on implementing the Fourth Geneva Convention that stipulates providing protection for civilians under occupation.

This call comes in light of the recurrent and flagrant violations of the provisions of the Geneva Convention as a result of the Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In interview with Orient Radio, Moussa said the Arab League and the non-governmental organizations in addition to the United Nations and a number of specialized agencies have a lot of evidences on the inhuman and dreadful violations committed by the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian civilians and their property in a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The idea of holding this conference was floated since the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada and the brutal repression practiced against Palestinian civilians every day, he added.

Responding to a question on the US withdrawal from Durban conference in protest against the non-governmental forum's condemnation of Israeli practices, Moussa said the American step was unwarranted.

Moussa denied the reports saying that some diplomats in the latest hours of negotiations at the third World Conference Against Racism have backtracked on their insistence on including an indication on equating Zionism with racism in the final statement of the conference.