Palestine and Iraq: Two Thorny Issues Challenge Arab Summit

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 01, 2002

Palestine and Iraq: Two Thorny Issues Challenge Arab Summit

The Arab Summit due to be held in Beirut in March 27-28 is under enormous pressure of the development in the Middle East region. It is inevitable that the Arab leaders at the summit have to face two thorny issues: Palestine and Iraq.

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Two thorny issues facing Arab Summit

First: Palestine and Israel issues

Whether or not Palestine National Authority (PNA) Chairman Yasser Arafat attends the summit, Palestinian cause will arouse difference among Arab leaders. The diverge lies at two levels.

The first issue concerns practical policy toward Israel. In the past, the Arab states considered relations with the Jewish state as a solo matter and was decided by individual capital. But later, it was decided on Israel's stance as the Jewish resists to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories.

At present, only Egypt and Jordan has diplomatic relationship with Israel, while the Jewish state has a trade office in Qatar.

Two rival theories are likely to be put to the Arab summit in March. Some believe that severing all Arab links with Israel is a way to exert pressure. Others suggests that maintaining these links can be sued to apply pressure. It is apparent that to reconcile the two theories is not a easy job, even if on verbal level.

The second level relates to policy to the PNA.

The PNA and its leader Arafat have a policy of condemning terrorist organizations. In an earlier letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Arafat reiterated his commitment to combating those terrorist groups, which implicitly refers to Islamic Resistant Movement (Hamas), Islamic Jihad (holy of war) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

However, some Arab states, namely Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Sudan, disagree with the PNA's approach. They may not expect any resolution or decision made by the summit to condemn these organizations.

Second: Iraq issues

The second obstacle the summit will face is Iraq, which has been a tough topic for more than one decade. But it turned out to be much tougher now as U.S. President George W. Bush single it out in his "axis of evil" speech in January, which also includes Iran and Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Washington has expressed its will to change Baghdad's regime.

It is noteworthy that Kuwait has turned down Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa's mediation between Kuwait and Iraq. In light of this, the Arab states will divided into two groups.

The first, including most Arab countries, will call for an end of the sanctions imposed on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The deadly effect of the sanction on the Iraqi people makes most Arab states feel that it is enough. They have stressed that the task of disarmament was achieved by the previous arms inspections.

Meanwhile, others noted that Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. resolutions is the cause of the crisis. Its refusal to allow the return of U.N. arms inspectors back to Bagdad is a proof of Iraq's intention to develop weapons of mass destruction.

On the other hand, Washington will spare no effort to influence Arab states to trend to the second group, which would give it a free hand to change Iraq's regime as it did in Afghanistan.

Palestine and Israel Issues

Iraq in "Axis of Evil" theory of the US

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