Despite Lebanese-Palestinian Row, Arab Summit Agenda Remain Focused

28/03/2002| IslamWeb

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* THE LEBANESE-PLESTINIAN DIPLOMATIC ROW
* GROUNDBREAKING SAUDI PLAN TO BE SEALED THURSDAY
* IRAQ & KUWAIT AGREE RAPPROACHMENT
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BEIRUT (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Despite a Lebanese-Palestinian row over Arafat's remote address to the summit over a satellite link, Arab leaders meeting for their 14th summit in the Lebanese capital managed to keep their agenda of the cross-roads gathering focused as originally planned-the intifadha, uprising against Israeli occupation, the Saudi peace plan and Iraq. (Read photo caption within)
Palestinian delegates later agreed to rejoin the summit after receiving Arab assurances that host Lebanon, which initially blocked Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from addressing the gathering by satellite link from the West Bank, would be allowed to speak.
Lebanon's president cited a "misunderstanding" over the Palestinian leader's speech, but delegates saw it as a deliberate snub and attributed it to the bitter enmity Syrian and some Lebanese leaders feel toward Arafat.
The Lebanese-Palestinian row threatened to weaken the impact of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's land-for-peace proposal.
Abdullah urged Arab leaders to back his plan for "normal ties" with Israel in return for an Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab land, creation of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees.
In a rare gesture, Abdullah went over the head of Israeli leaders and pitched his peace offer to the people of Israel, with a message that "the use of violence for more than 50 years has only resulted in more violence and destruction and that they are as far from security and peace as they have ever been.
"I would further say to the Israeli people that, if their government abandons the policy of force and oppression and embraces true peace, we will not hesitate to accept the right of the Israeli people to live in security with the people of the region," the Saudi Crownprince declared.
He skirted some of the Middle East's linguistic minefields, avoiding "normalization," anathema to Syria, and the phrase "right of return," a formula fiercely rejected by Israel.
For their final session today the Arab leaders were looking to seal the groundbreaking Saudi plan for peace in the Middle East.
A major great success in the first day of talks on Wednesday was an agreement between Iraq and Kuwait to start a rapprochement for the first time since Baghdad invaded its neighbor in 1990. The summit also looked set to call for an end to U.N. sanctions on Iraq, according to a draft communique.

PHOTO CAPTION:
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat gives a speech from his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, March 27, 2002. The Palestinian delegation to the Arab summit in Beirut walked out in protest after political infighting lead to a broadcast of the speech being blocked. (Reuters )