Arab leaders gather for an annual summit in Libya at the weekend determined to “rescue” Occupied Jerusalem as Israel defies international calls for a settlement freeze in the Holy City. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal is leading the Kingdom's delegation to the two -day Arab Foreign Ministers conference in Surt, Libya, which will discuss today and tomorrow the draft agenda for Saturday's 22nd Arab League Summit. The foreign ministers will also discuss the Surt Declaration, which will be endorsed by Arab leaders. The summit will be the first to be hosted by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and is expected also to discuss Sudan where President Omar Al-Beshir, who is facing an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes, is seeking reelection. Sources said the final summit communiqué includes the righting off Iraqi debts as well as a special call to neighboring countries to cease interfering in Iraq's internal affairs and to respect the country's sovereignty so that it can deal with the security and political challenges which it is facing. The communiqué is also said to include an Arab plan to support Al- Quds and to take the necessary measures to confront Israeli occupation and the policy of Judaization of Al-Quds. The Arab League's representatives endorsed Wednesday in Surt all the drafted decisions relating to the Palestinian cause and agreed to support the Palestinian budget and increase the $150 million financial aid approved in the Beirut Summit to $500 million. The League's representatives also submitted a draft decision for devising an Arab plan to salvage Al-Quds and to call upon all international organizations not to recognize illegitimate projects targeting Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine or deal with those who deny Palestinians their legitimate rights. Other Arab sources said the United Arab Emirates have requested that the summit's agenda include items on the methods of fighting international terrorism, the occupation of Golan by Israel and the lifting of unilateral American penalties on Syria. The summit leaders will also discuss the Syrian initiative for devising a mechanism to resolve Arab differences, the Yemeni initiative to reactivate joint Arab work and the occupation of UAE islands by Iran.
