ALGIERS,
March 23, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Israel
Wednesday, March 23, stunned Arab leaders gathering in the Algerian
capital for a two-day summit that kicked off Tuesday, swiftly spurning
a “reactivated” Middle East peace initiative.
A
senior official from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office told
Agence France-Presse (AFP) the Arabs were trying “to give this
illusion of unity on the surface by adopting resolutions that
contradict with all of the advances made, particularly by Egypt and
Jordan, which is unacceptable”.
Egypt
and Jordan have recently sent back their ambassadors to Tel Aviv for
the first time in four years.
“The
summit proved it is out of touch with reality and in a delicate
situation regarding developments in the Arab world,” the official
added to AFP, on condition of anonymity.
The
summit’s final declaration to be released later Wednesday makes
peace with Israel conditional on the creation of an independent
Palestinian state and the return of refugees.
“Based
on the Arab peace initiative, Arab countries will therefore consider
the Arab-Israeli conflict over and will set up normal ties with Israel
within the framework of a comprehensive peace,” according to a copy
obtained by AFP.
Israel
had showered with praise a Jordanian peace vision that was to replace
the initiative but faced fierce opposition from most of the foreign
ministers earlier in the week.
Israeli
Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres, in an interview with the Israeli
public radio, that the Arab leaders would adopt the Jordanian
blueprint and prove “peace-loving.”
The
text of a Jordanian peace version, called for not linking the
normalization of relations with Israel with the full withdrawal form
the occupied territories occupied in the 1967 war, but rather with the
planned Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip in July.
Final
Declaration
 |
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Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi laughs with Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak on the sidelines of the summit. (Reuters).
|
A
final declaration to be issued at the end of the summit, which closes
later in the day, echoes the one released at last year’s Tunis
conference.
It
pledges Arab support for Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians’
efforts to recover land occupied by Israel.
It
reaffirms “respect for Iraq’s unity, sovereignty and independence
and non-interference in its domestic affairs” and welcomes its
political transition following the legislative elections held in
January.
It
also voiced support for Sudan and concern over the Darfur crisis,
calling for emergency humanitarian aid but failing to make any
specific commitment.
It
likewise condemned “terrorism in all its forms and regardless of its
motives and justifications” and said it should not be linked to
Islam.
Concretely
they agreed to set up a pan-Arab parliament and “a follow-up body
for resolutions, changing of voting methods, decision-making” within
the Arab League.
They
also exhorted members of the cash-strapped League to pay up their dues
and arrears but took no measures to sanction those who fail to do so.
The
leaders -- who will meet in Khartoum next year -- promised to pursue a
plan for reform announced last year but did not emphasize what they
will do despite incessant appeals from the West to see more democracy
in the region.
The
meeting in the Algerian capital has also raised questions about the
absence of several key players and the failure of leaders to tackle
some of the most controversial issues facing their troubled region.
Only
13 heads of states from the 22-member Arab League attended the annual
summit.
Key
players such as Jordan's King Abdullah II and Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, failed to show up.
