The final communiqué of the 21st Arab summit that concluded here Monday rejected the International Criminal Court's arrest order for Al-Beshir on a war crimes charge and called upon Arab relief organizations to come forth and provide aid in Darfur. The communiqué appealed to the international community to work toward scrapping the ICC warrant. The communiqué also expressed unanimous support for Arab reconciliation and appealed to all Arabs to unite, forget their differences and start a new era of good relations among them. It urged the United Nations to investigate Israeli war crimes in Gaza and to refer these to the ICC. It said the Arab peace initiative is a comprehensive total package and cannot be negotiated in parts. The communiqué called for the establishment of a Palestine state with Al-Quds as its capita, stressing that comprehensive peace is a strategic Arab option. The leaders announced their support to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the legitimate authority of the Palestinians, with Mahmoud Abbas as head of state. The communiqué emphasized that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank make up one geographical entity of the Palestinian people and cannot be divided. Also expressed was support for the ongoing Palestinian dialogue in Cairo and hope that it would result in a government of national unity. The leaders decided to continue pursuing their peace initiative, though their communiqué also said that Israel is not serious about peace in view of its continuing refusal to accept the Arab peace offer. Qatari Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabr Al -Thani said in a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa that the leaders agreed on allocating funds for food aid as follows: $8 million monthly for one year to Sudan; $3 million monthly to Somalia for six months, provided national reconciliation is achieved there; and $2 million monthly to Comoro Islands for one year. An increase in the Arab League's budget was also announced. Opening the summit, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar and Chairman of the Summit, expressed his appreciation to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for initiating the move for Arab reconciliation, which was the central theme of the meeting. “It signifies his keenness on mending the Arab rifts and overlooking any difference in opinion between us,” he said. Sheikh Hamad also reiteratied that King Abdullah is the best leader to represent the Arabs at the G-20 summit set to take place in London Thursday. “I don't exaggerate when I say we feel that King Abdullah represents us in this task in which we wish him all success,” Sheikh Hamad said. “We are confident that King Abdullah is representing the interest of the entire Arab nation as well as the developing countries, which are affected by the global economic crisis, besides realizing their aspirations for more balanced relations with the advanced industrial countries.” In their speeches, Amr Moussa, Al-Beshir, Lebanese President Michael Sulaiman, Moroccan King Mohammad VI, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeluddin Ihsanoglu, Chairman of the Transitional Arab Parliament Mohammad Jasim Al-Saqr, and Tunisian President Zain Ala Abideen Bin Ali also paid tribute to King Abdullah for his initiative aimed at putting an end to Arab differences. King Abdullah, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi held a meeting at Al-Bahr palace to discuss a number of issues pertaining to the summit, the Saudi Press Agency reported. They discussed the importance of overcoming internal disputes in order to achieve Arab reconciliation as called for by King Abdullah last January at the Kuwait economic summit. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Qatari Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Al-Thani and the Director of the African portfolio, Bashir Saleh. After the summit, King Abdullah received at his guest residence Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to discuss developments in the Arab, Islamic and international arenas, including the positive decisions that emanated from the summit, SPA reported. They also discussed ways of enhancing Saudi-Syrian bilateral cooperation. It was decided that Libya would host the 22nd Arab summit next year. Gaddafi extended his invitation to the Arab leaders to Libya for the summit. Regarding the peace process in the region, Gaddafi emphasized that the Palestinian refugees and the Israeli nuclear arsenal were important issues. He also expressed satisfaction over current inter-Arab relations, SPA said. The summit saw the first direct encounter between Al-Beshir and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The UN chief in his speech as a special invitee to the summit, criticized Sudan for expelling aid agencies in Darfur. “Relief efforts should not become politicized,” Ban said. “People in need must be helped irrespective of political differences,” Ban added in an appeal to resume relief efforts to Darfur. Al-Beshir attacked the UN Security Council – which asked the international court to open the Darfur war crimes investigation. He called it an “undemocratic institution that ... applies double standards, targeted the weak and gave a blind eye to the (real) criminals.” He claimed the United Nations cannot keep its credibility “with some countries having hegemony.” The UN chief also urged the incoming Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze settlements, stop unilateral actions in Jerusalem and ease conditions in Gaza. “The new Israeli government must allow people and goods to move (into Gaza). It must freeze settlements, cease unilateral actions in Jerusalem and continue negotiations,” Ban said, while praising the Arab peace initiative.
