CAIRO, September 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad expressed Monday, September 30, their continuous opposition to an attack against Iraq and called on the UN Security Council "to force Israel to implement (international) resolutions and withdraw from the land it has occupied" in the West Bank since mid-June after a wave of suicide bombings.

The two leaders "stressed the need to strengthen the international current opposed to a strike on Iraq so that the people of the region can avoid a disaster," said a joint statement published at the end of Assad's three-hour visit with Mubarak, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

The heads of state urged a "quick resumption of the inspections carried out under the mandate of the UN Security Council" to verify that Iraq no longer possesses weapons of mass destruction, the statement said.

Mubarak, whose country is a close ally of the United States, and Assad, whose nation enjoys chilly relations with Washington, urged the UN Security Council to "exhaust all means" to avoid a U.S. attack on Iraq, AFP said.

Their appeal came as Iraqi officials were meeting with UN arms experts in Vienna to organize the return of weapons inspectors after a near four-year break.

Those talks come as the United States is pushing its "own version" tough draft resolution through the UN Security Council that would give Iraq just seven days to declare all its weapons of mass destruction programs and another 23 to cooperate fully with UN teams before facing military action.

Meanwhile, Mubarak and Assad also turned their attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On the topic of Middle East crisis, the two leaders called on the UN Security Council "to force Israel to implement (international) resolutions and withdraw from the land it has occupied" in the West Bank since mid-June.

An Israeli pull-out would "halt the deterioration and restore the climate needed for peace talks to resume on all tracks," they said.

Israel on Sunday, September 29, lifted its 10-day siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, but kept troops in the area.

In Damascus, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said that Syria, as a current member of the UN Security Council, "has been trying to block a resolution providing for a strike" against Iraq.

The official paid tribute to the cautious and well thought-out position of Russia, France and China, the three permanent members of the Security Council who have voiced opposition to the U.S. push for military strikes and can veto any new resolution.

The spokeswoman accused Washington of targeting Iraq "to cover up Israel's crimes" against the Palestinians.

Israel's occupation of Arab land "is the real problem in the Middle East," she said.

Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, have expressed opposition to a U.S. war against Iraq, warning it could destabilize the whole region.

Mubarak last week visited Saudi Arabia to coordinate Arab action in the face of the U.S. threats, and urged Iraq on September 26 to implement UN resolutions on disarmament to deprive Washington of any pretext for an attack.

Meanwhile, Mubarak is to visit Libya on Tuesday, October 1, for talks with Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a source close to the president's office said.

The source said the meeting was part of the regular consultations between the two leaders on developments in the region.