No Miracles at the Arab League's Emergency Ministerial Session in Cairo

13/04/2001| IslamWeb

CAIRO (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Arab foreign ministers wound up an emergency meeting in Cairo on Wednesday with calls for political and economic help for the Palestinians and a familiar litany of condemnation of Israeli policies against them.
"One cannot expect miracles, we are not at the time of miracles. But let me say there are practical, positive decisions that can be implemented," Palestinian Minister Nabil Shaath said after the emergency summit.After more than 10 hours of talks, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani told reporters that the ministers called on Arabs to refrain from initiating contacts with Israel until it stops ``aggressions'' against the Palestinians, but did not call on states to halt existing ties.
Sheikh Hamad, who chaired the meeting, said the ministers called for a global boycott of Israeli goods produced in settlements in the occupied territories and to study ways of reviving a boycott of Israel, although he admitted it would be difficult to apply. (Read photo caption below)
``I can't say the resolutions are excellent or firm, but what I can say is that if they are applied, they will be a step forward,'' he said, adding that some resolutions would not be made public.
CONDEMNATION OF ISRAELI POLICIES
The foreign ministers condemned Israel's ``brutally hostile'' policies against Palestinians. They also called for Israel's immediate withdrawal from Orient House, the Palestinian's Jerusalem headquarters.
They also urged the United States to stop providing the Jewish state with ``offensive weapons.''
The meeting, which had been requested by Arafat, is the fifth Arab foreign ministers' gathering since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began in September, and follows two Arab summits on the conflict.
None of the talks have managed to stop nearly 11 months of bloodshed in which almost 700 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed.
Final statements at high-level Arab gatherings held since the uprising began tend to be watered down to accommodate the views of all 22 members of the Arab League, including Jordan, Mauritania and Egypt, which have peace treaties with Israel.
``...Jordan and Egypt have their own agreements...and we should respect these agreements,'' Sheikh Hamed said.
Even Palestinian Planning and International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath acknowledged ``it is difficult for the Arab states to cut ties with Israel because there are many agreements linking them with Israel, such as the (Egypt-Israel) Camp David accords.''
Asked what effect the resolutions would have on Israeli policy-making, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa told Reuters: ``It doesn't seem they are influenced by anything, neither (by) Washington nor the Security Council nor anybody. But this should not deter us.''
PHOTO CAPTION:
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, right, laughs as he shakes hands with Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim al Thani upon his arrival at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2001. Arafat was addressing the emergency meeting of the Arab foreign ministers, chaired by SH Hamad, to forge a unified Arab position toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict's latest escalation. (AP Photo/Hussein Hussein)
- Aug 22 3:06 PM ET