ARAB MINISTERS ADOPT PLAN TO TACKLE RIFTS, CALL FOR ACTION AGAINST ISRAEL’S POLICIES

CAIRO, March 4 (NNN-KUNA) — Arab foreign ministers, at their 133rd session here, adopted a lengthy draft agenda of the upcoming Arab summit and took resolutions and recommendations on a host of issues, namely a Syrian initiative to tackle rifts within the Arab fold and calling for diplomatic action against Israel’s measures that posed a threat to peace efforts.

Following the marathon session Wednesday, the ministers, who held the session within the framework of the Arab League Ministerial Council, adopted the draft schedule of the Arab summit, due to be held in the Libyan city of Sirte, on March 27-28, that would be also revised at a ministerial meeting due ahead of the top-level meeting in Libya on March 25.

According to the text of the resolutions, the ministers decided to refer a Syrian initiative on working out a mechanism for “managing Arab-Arab differences” to the summit.

They affirmed significance of the “principles” proposed by the Syrians and called for “developing the proposed mechanism for the conciliation.” They also voiced support for identical calls and initiatives, made by Arab leaders for reconciliation among the Arab ranks.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem, addressing the crucial session, expressed Damascus’ views vis-a-vis means of “managing any disputes within the Arab fold in a manner that contributes to reaching acceptable settlements by the relevant Arab parties in support of stability, peace and security of the whole Arab home.”

The ministers examined a Yemeni initiative designed to activate joint Arab action and asked the Yemeni delegation to express views on it by the middle of March, pending submission of a report in this regard to the summit.

As to the term related to the Lockerbie bombing case, the council affirmed Libya’s legitimate right to seek compensation for the material and humanitarian losses it had suffered as a result of the imposition of sanctions.

A Pan American flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Dec 21, 1988, was blown up above the Scottish city of Lockerbie, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members. A Libyan had been convicted over the incident.

On the US accountability act against Syria, they rejected the relevant US curbs against Damascus and urged Washington to annul this law for it “constituted flagrant bias in favour of Israel and jeopardizes opportunities for achieving just and comprehensive peace in the region.”

They also rebuffed the US embargo on Syria to charter US aircraft or purchase parts of planes’ engines. They called on Arab states to hold contacts with all concerned countries and organisations to seek to lift the embargo.

Regarding the crisis in Darfur, they praised conciliation efforts that have been exerted by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and his sponsorship of the mission of the Arab-African commission tasked with resolving it. They thanked Doha for setting up a USD 1 billion fund for development in Darfur, and welcomed the “framework agreement” that had been signed in the Qatari capital by the Sudanese government, the opposition Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and called on all political movements in Darfur to join the conciliation process for restoring peace and stability to the troubled region.

The ministerial council renewed support for the Arab-African commission efforts for restoring peace to Darfur.

Regarding a US bill to impose sanctions on some television satellite operators, the council approved a plan designed to launch diplomatic efforts by the Arab foreign ministers in the US to promote the negative aspect of such prospected curbs. They emphasized the necessity for Arab states to continue political and media efforts to combat extremism, violence, sectarianism and terrorism, with emphasis on adherence to the freedom of the press and distinction between terrorism and the legitimate rights for resistance against the Israeli occupation.

The foreign ministers confirmed that states that have granted licences for satellite broadcasting and the operations of corporations of the satellites have been respectful of the rules governing this advanced media service, and tasked the council of Arab ambassadors in Washington to pursue efforts to tackle this issue.

The council condemned Israel’s inclusion of the Al-Ibrahimi and Bilal Bin Rabah mosques into its list of historic sites, called on the UNESCO, the OIC and the international community to take action against these measures.

These Israeli steps are tantamount to a declaration of war on their sanctities and may pave way for a flare up of a religious war in the region, the ministers warned in their final statement of the session.

They called on the Arab Group in the UNESCO, the European Union and the United Nations, to campaign against the Israeli move.

On the overall regional conflict, the ministers affirmed anew that a comprehensive and just settlement remained the strategic option, that the peace process in the Middle East cannot be separated and peace cannot be realised without Israel’s full withdrawal from the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories including the Golan Heights to the June 4, 1967 line, in addition to some Lebanese border lands that remained under the grip of the occupation.

They affirmed the necessity of reaching a just solution to the plight of the Palestinian refugees on the basis of the 2002 Arab peace initiative, the UN General Assembly resolution No. 194 of 1948, rejection of all forms of settlement and support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with holy Jerusalem as its capital.

The council of ministers renewed in its final resolution rejection of the Israeli call on the Palestinians to recognise “the Jewish identity of the state of Israel,” while affirming the significance of the role played by the Arab peace initiative commission for its promotion — “which will not remain on the table for a long period of time.”

It expressed concern at indications of a back-down by Washington concerning the Israeli settlement schemes, called on US President Barack Obama to remain committed to his previous principled and basic stance, where he called for overall cessation of construction and expansion of settlements.

The Arab officials emphasized the Arab identity of Jerusalem, rejecting illegitimate Israeli measures intended to Judaize and annex it and relocate its natives. They also called on the international community to exert pressure on Tel Aviv to lift the siege on Gaza and reopen the closed gateways leading to the beleagured enclave.

They welcomed a decision by the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly, adopting the Goldstone Report regarding Israel’s dangerous breaches of international law and human rights principles during its war on Gaza. They called for the setting up of an international panel to cross-examine reports about Israel’s theft of human organs.

On Jerusalem, the council called for holding an Arab summit to maintain the identity of the city and discuss the Israeli schemes to Judaize it, asked the Arab League to examine prospects of prosecuting Israel internationally for its breaches in the holy city, urged the Security Council to take necessary measures to coerce it into halting the construction of the racial separation wall around Jerusalem and demolish the parts that had already been built.

They condemned Israel’s metro project that would link up western Jerusalem with the West Bank via the eastern sector of the holy city, affirming its illegality. They called on the planned Arab summit to map out a full-scale plan to save the city, asked the Arab Group in New York to seek holding a special session of the UN General Assembly to condemn the Israeli measures in the city and coerce Tel Aviv to implement the UN resolutions 240, 426, 478, that genuinely affirm that Jerusalem is located within the territories that were occupied in 1967.

The council decided to form a legal committee to document the Israeli acts of Judaizing the city and call on the EU and the Security Council to shoulder the responsibility to preserve the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and renewed support for Syria’s just rights in reclaiming the whole of the Golan Heights to the June 4, 1967 line.

– NNN-KUNA

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