Iraq Presents Five-Point Demand to Arab League

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 03, 2002

Iraq Presents Five-Point Demand to Arab League

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Iraq on Tuesday presented the Arab League (AL) with a five-point demand which includes suspending oil supply to Israel and the U.S., allowing Arabs to provide weapons as well as volunteer army to support the Palestinians, according to a copy of the statement obtained by Xinhua.

The statement called on Arab countries to immediately suspend cooperation with the U.S. on the war against terror till the U.S. admits that the Israeli aggression against Palestine is terrorism.

The statement also demanded Arabs to halt oil supply to Israel and the U.S., close all Israeli embassies and consulates in Arab capitals and cancel all forms of relations with the Jewish state.

In the statement, Iraq also called for supporting the Palestinian intifada (uprising) with all kinds of weapons, on top of which are anti-tank weapons; Providing "generous and immediate" financial support for Palestine and granting permission to an Arab volunteer army to go to Palestine and fight against Israel.

Earlier Tuesday, Iraqi Acting Foreign Minister Humam Abdul Khaliq said Iraq was ready "to cut off oil supply to the United States, jointly with Iran and all those who decide to do so among Muslim oil producers, to protest against Israel and the U.S..

Iraq's ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party on Monday urged fellow Arabs to use oil as a weapon against Israel and the United States.

Directly or indirectly, Iraq has been among the top oil suppliers of the U.S., though the two have been sworn enemies since the 1991 Gulf War.

Iraq's strong rhetoric followed a AL decision on Tuesday to hold an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday in Cairo over the escalating crisis in the Mideast region triggered by Israel's incursion into several West Bank towns.

The latest Israeli actions, which included a siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters, have triggered strong reactions from the Arab world, including Iraq.

Iraq has demanded the United Nations to allocate 1 billion euros (some 930 million U.S. dollars) from its oil revenues to support Palestine.

It has also organized a 6.5-million-strong "Jerusalem Liberation Army" which vowed to fight along with the Palestinians against Israeli occupation.

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