Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques discusses with President Abbas Palestinian developments, peace march

Arab foreign ministers call for election of Suleiman as president of Lebanon, formation of national unity government, new law for elections

Arab foreign ministers consider Israel's settlement policy as obstacle before peace

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz received Mahmoud Abbas, the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

During the audience, discussions focused on the latest developments of the Palestinian cause, developments of the peace process in the region following the Annapolis conference and the international efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that secures for the Palestinian people their right in establishing their independent state on their national soil with Al-Quds as its capital according to the resolutions of the international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.

The audience was attended by a number of princes and officials.

The Arab Foreign Ministers concluded here today the meeting of their extraordinary session of the Arab League's Council at the ministerial level under the chairmanship of Algeria and upon a request by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The Saudi delegation to the meeting was headed by Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The statement expressed the Council's outrage due to Israel's continuing changes in the occupied territories and the process of settlement, calling on Israel to stop its actions immediately and to dismantle the settlements.

It added that the Council considers the continuation of settlement policy, the siege, closures and military attacks on the civilian as undermining the chances of activating the negotiations according to Annapolis track.

The ministers reaffirmed the need to respect the agreed time-frame, which provides for the establishment of a Palestinian state with full sovereignty by 2008, and the importance of continuing efforts to hold the proposed meeting to follow-up the Arab-Israeli peace process in Moscow.

The statement requested from the General Secretariat to follow-up and monitor Israeli settlement activity in cooperation with the Palestinian National Authority and Arab and international organizations.

The Ministerial Council of the Arab League warned of the implications of the UN Security Council and the international Quartet tolerating on the Israeli violations against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

In a statement, the Council called on the Quartet and the UN Security Council to move promptly and effectively to stop the Israeli violations ,lift the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip , to stop the attacks and raids and murder against Palestinian citizens.

It pointed to the willingness of the Palestinian National Authority for the management of all crossings in the Gaza Strip in accordance with the initiative of the international quartet committee to contribute to ending the Israeli siege and reduce the suffering of the unarmed Palestinian people.

The statement emphasized that the Ministerial Council studied the humanitarian situation and economic and security situation in the Gaza Strip and some West Bank towns and villages on eve of the continued Israeli violations against Palestinian civilians as well raid operations , military incursions, arrests and demolition of buildings.

Syria and other Arab nations have agreed to back Lebanon’s army chief as the country’s next president and called on rival parties to resolve their political differences.

During a meeting in Cairo on Saturday, Arab foreign ministers also called on Lebanon to elect a president on January 27 and elect Commander General Michel Suleiman. "The ministers welcome favorably the consensus around Michel Suleiman as a candidate for the presidency and call for his immediate election," Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said.

In a statement, the ministers said the new president should have the power to cast his vote to break ties in the Cabinet.

"Stemming from Arab responsibilities toward Lebanon and in continuation of Arab efforts to help Lebanon overcome its crisis, the ministers ... call on the concerned parties in Lebanon to reach a consensus," the foreign ministers said in a statement. The ministers would agree on a plan for Lebanon to "hold immediate elections and form the national unity government," Moussa said.

Lebanon has been without a president since pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ended November 23 and political parties failed to reach consensus on a candidate. An Arab diplomatic source in Cairo said the Arab League has received messages from different Lebanese parties highlighting their demands and vision on a solution to the crisis in general, not just the presidential crisis that emerged recently.

A consultative meeting, the source said, would discuss developments on the Palestinian arena in light of stalled peace process negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides and Israel's continued construction of settlements and aggression on the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza.

The source affirmed that all Arab ideas and activities in the coming stage as far as calling on the UN Security Council and the international quartet to bring to a halt the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people and construction of settlements were concerned would be discussed.

An official source who attended a closed session on Sunday said that the meeting was devoted to discussions on settlements and means to deal with such an obstacle that blocks efforts to reach a settlement, noting most of the ministers spoke of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the region.

Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirabi said Israel has offered nothing since the Annapolis conference while Jordan's Salah al-Bashir said the year 2008 would see the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The head of the Palestinian delegation has presented a full report on the outcome of previous rounds of negotiations with the Israeli side. Egypt suggested that the Arab foreign ministers should send two messages, the first for President Bush in his capacity as the sponsor of the peace process in the region, and the second to the international community to exert efforts to stop Israel's construction of settlements.

The Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said he would pay a visit to Lebanon soon for talks with all political powers in the country and notify them on the plan of action approved by the Arab foreign ministers on reaching a solution to the crisis in Lebanon.

Moussa said the plan involves three stages: the first one is to elect General Michel Suleiman as president, the second to form a national unity government and the third stage is to draft a new law for elections in Lebanon.

In a joint press conference he held with Algerian Foreign Minister Murad Mudalesi, the current chairman of the Arab League Council, Moussa said that the outcome of his talks in Beirut would be put in a report to be submitted to the Arab foreign ministers in a resumed session scheduled to be held on January 27, 2008 at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo to follow up the implementation of the decisions and steps adopted by the ministers as far as Lebanon and Palestine were concerned.

Asked whether the Arab participation in the Annapolis conference was a correct step, Moussa said the Arab side could not have refrained from taking part in an international meeting attended by the representatives of 90 nations to discuss the Palestinian issue.

"The most important thing was that we offered the Arab vision to the entire world and one of the outcomes of the Annapolis meeting was that a timeframe was set for the establishment of a Palestinian state, which was the year 2008," Moussa said.

The Arab League chief reiterated that there was Arab insistence extended to the whole world that there would not be normalization with Israel for free and that both the Arab and Israeli sides have obligations.

He demanded the UN Security Council, the international quartet and the U.S. sponsor to press Israel into meeting its pledges taken in Annapolis.

He stressed that the Arab countries agreed on giving the U.S. side a chance during the visit of the American president to the region to consider what he would do towards what was agreed upon in Annapolis, noting the Arab side wanted a genuine translation of the Annapolis outcome on the ground.

Meanwhile, Lebanese sources said that the head of the Lebanese government, Fouad al-Siniora, had talks with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al Thani, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit and Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi to thank them for their role in drawing a roadmap for Lebanon to bring it out of its current crisis.