Arafat stresses the need to convene the Arab summit shortly

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Thursday asserted the need for the urgent holding of the plenary Arab summit which was called for by Egypt and Morocco.

Arafat added that such a summit constitutes "now an urgent Arab political and unity requirement."

In a statement he made in Gaza upon his return from South Africa where he attended the inauguration of new South African President Thabo Mbeki, Arafat said, "The plenary Arab summit is now a need for serving Arab politics, unity and solidarity."

For his part, the advisor for the Palestinian President, Nabil Abu Roudinah, stressed in a statement to the AFP "the need to urgently hold the Arab summit in order to deal with the changes in Israel in light of results of the Israeli elections and to guarantee the future of the Middle East peace process, already frozen by the former Israeli government."

Abu Roudinah added, "We are seeking to provide a success for such a summit. We underline the importance of ensuring the proper atmospheres to guarantee the realization of its objectives in finding out an Arab strategy to counter challenges targeting all of us."