The Arab summit in Kuwait Monday will seek an immediate truce in Gaza as sought by the Egyptian initiative, seek an end to Israel's siege on Gaza, and call for the reopening of all border entry points into the Palestinian coastal enclave, according to a proposal agreed upon by Arab foreign ministers, Friday. In line with a call made by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the foreign ministers, meeting in Kuwait, agreed to set up a $2 billion Gaza reconstruction fund. The proposal also pledged “extra aid, not less that $500 million, to support the Palestinian Authority. Prince Saud in his speech called for action to sue Israel for war crimes against the Palestinians in Gaza, where its large-scale offensive, dubbed “Operation Cast Lead”, has killed more than 1,133 Palestinians – around half of them civilians – and wounded over 5,000 others since Dec. 27, 2008. The Syrian foreign minister did not attend the meeting ahead of an Arab economic summit in Kuwait Jan. 19-20, in which the Gaza crisis will be taken up as per an agreement of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) emergency session convened Thursday in Riyadh by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. In Kuwait Friday, Prince Saud called for supporting the Egyptian initiative that aims to secure a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza . He also urged the Arab League ministers to discuss the possibility of returning to the Security Council to issue an executive resolution for implementing Resolution 1860. The Security Council, after days of diplomatic wrestling, adopted on Jan. 8 resolution 1860 calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza “leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.” Prince Saud said the resolution would not have been issued without the intensive efforts of the Arab committee, which saw it emerge as an international resolution submitted by Britain, retaining the key elements of the Arab draft. Israel has rejected outright the resolution for “an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire”. The Egyptian initiative, proposed by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, is complementary to Arab efforts and can form a mechanism for implementing the UN resolution, Prince Saud said It calls for an immediate ceasefire for a limited period to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and give Egypt time to continue its efforts to help reach a lasting truce. Egypt would then invite both Israel and the Palestinians for negotiations and help resume the inter-Palestinian reconciliation talks, according to the proposal. The ministers also discussed an Arab League memorandum on the gravity of the Israeli military attacks, which refers to political and humanitarian efforts and the UN Human Rights Council's condemnation to Israel's atrocities in Gaza. The memo carries circumstantial and concrete evidence of Israeli war crimes and seeks an immediate, independent and neutral investigation by the international community.
