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Arab leaders vow aid to war-hit Gaza

KUWAIT CITY — Arab leaders meeting in Kuwait yesterday appeared to have healed a rift in ties exposed by Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip as they pledged aid to the war-battered territory.

A reconciliation has been achieved between Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Syria, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani told the Doha-based satellite television Al Jazeera.

He gave no details of the deal. UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan left Kuwait yesterday where he had arrived the previous day to attend the summit, the Kuna news agency reported.

His departure came even before the opening session was over. No reason was given for the surprising departure.

Seventeen Arab heads of state are attending the two-day summit while another five countries are represented at senior official level.

Representing His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, deputy prime minister for the Council of Ministers, attended the meeting.

Leaders of the four states and host country Kuwait held a meeting at the residence of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia following the opening session of the Arab summit in Kuwait City. The efforts to heal a rift shown up by Israel’s offensive in Gaza were launched by Kuwait with the help of other Arab nations in the Gulf, a Kuwaiti source said.

King Abdullah called in a speech at yesterday’s summit for an end to Arab differences.

“We have to overcome Arab political differences that led to a division in Arab ranks which can be exploited by those who want to achieve their regional ambitions,” he said.

The apparent reconciliation also came after Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak expressed contradictory stands at the opening session of the two-day summit. Bashar called on the summit to brand Israel a terrorist state for its assault on the Gaza Strip and urged Arab countries to “declare an unequivocal support for the Palestinian resistance.”

Mubarak, however, warned that regional powers were trying to exploit Arab differences for the purpose of domination and reiterated that a peaceful settlement remained the only option.

“We proposed the Arab peace initiative seven years ago,” he said.

“It is time it receives a positive response. It should be taken seriously by Israel and international big powers ... Middle East peace is an urgent necessity.”

Kuwait’s Emir His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah opened the summit with a call for collective Arab measures setting out “practical steps to stabilise the ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.

Sharp disagreements have hampered the Arab response to Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, with some nations calling for strong action while others prefer a more moderate approach.

Sheikh Sabah voiced support for the Arab peace initiative, which King Abdullah warned would “not remain on the table forever.”

The summit held in Doha on Friday called for the scrapping of Saudi Arabia’s peace initiative, which calls for normalisation of ties with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from Arab land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

On the Palestinian front, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for a reconciliation within Palestinian ranks through a national unity government that would hold simultaneous presidential and legislative elections.

The Saudi monarch also announced the donation of one billion dollars for the reconstruction of Gaza, while Kuwait pledged an aid of $34 million to cover urgent needs of the UNRWA relief agency for Palestinian refugees.

The summit is expected to approve a two-billion-dollar fund for the rebuilding of Gaza, which was devastated by the Israeli offensive. But Sheikh Sabah said the reconstruction should be led through an international effort.

Initially intended to focus solely on the regional economy and to be non-political, the gathering has been turned into a show of solidarity with the 1.5 million Palestinian residents of Gaza.

On the economic aspect, the Arab leaders are expected to announce the launch of an Arab customs union in 2010, besides approving plans for an Arab power grid and railway projects.

The summit will also tackle poverty and unemployment in Arab states and the global financial crisis which, according to Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Sabah, has cost investors in the region $2.5 trillion.