The 21st Arab Summit, which opens here Monday, is expected to adopt a draft resolution on the Palestinian dossier to call for supporting Palestinian dialogue and unifying the Arab rank. The summit will host more than 15 leaders of the Arab world as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Sudan President Omer Al-Beshir arrived in Doha Sunday, after visits to Egypt, Eritrea and Libya. The opening session will hear a 20-minute speech from Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, president of the previous summit, who arrived in Doha ahead of the other leaders. The resolution on Palestine will assert that the state of Palestine is a full participant in the peace process, as it will support the PLO in any future negotiations on final issues. It will also emphasize that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank – including East Jerusalem – are one inseparable geographic entity, and that an independent Palestinian state must be founded on all lands occupied in 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital. Heads of delegations will speak at 12 P.M. and will be followed by a closed session at 1.30 P.M. for agenda discussion and approval. Sessions will halt at 2.30 P.M. and a third closed session is scheduled for 6.30 P.M. A fourth session at 8.30 P.M. and will witness the approval of draft decisions and the Doha Declaration. Ministerial sources in Beirut have said that the Lebanese summit speech will reiterate its commitment to the Madrid Peace Conference decisions and to the Arab Peace Initiative. The speech will also reflect, according to the same sources, on the effect of Arab nations' relations on Lebanon and Lebanese domestic policy. The situation regarding the international court looking into Al-Hariri's assassination will be also included in the speech and in the summit communiqué. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described the Doha summit as being held in the midst of difficult circumstances, especially after the Likud victory in the Israeli elections. “It requires Arab leaders to increase discussions on a unified strategy to deal with the complications of that government ruling in Israel,” Abbas said. Abbas reiterated PA support for the Arab reconciliation efforts brought by King Abdullah at the Kuwait summit. “The Palestinian issue was and still is the most important issue for Arabs. We demand a just and comprehensive peace that gives Palestinian rights.” Ismael Haniyeh, President of the deposed Palestinian government, hoped the summit would further King Abdullah's reconciliation efforts. The spokesman for the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Nafith Azzam, said the group's message to the summit was to unite to help the Palestinian people, and to not make any concessions regarding their rights. Azzam demanded the summit “form a committee to bring Israel to account for its war crimes in Gaza.”
