Arab leaders call for action on Palestine and Syria

Syrian opposition coalition has taken Syria's seat at the Arab summit Arab leaders at the 24th Arab League Summit in Doha have urged the international community to promote a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, pressurise Israel to lift its siege on Gaza and bring an end to the construction of settlements.In the final statement issued at the end of the two-day summit, Arab representatives condemned the Syrian regime for its military offensive against the civilian population, and officially recognised the Syrian National Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
The statement emphasised the importance of a political solution to the Syrian crisis and called on regional institutions to support Syrian refugees in neighbouring Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.
The final statement added that every Arab country has the right to arm the Syrian opposition.
Meanwhile, Dr Said Alawnda from Cairo's Al-Ahram Center for Political & Strategic Studies, has told Egyptian television that the summit has made a mistake in recognising the Syrian opposition. "The Arab summit made an error by giving Syria's seat at the Arab League to the Syrian opposition, because the opposition is divided itself, and we cannot ignore the Israeli and American desire to eliminate the Syrian state, and fragment it, as they did in Iraq."
The 24th Arab League Summit began in Doha on Tuesday, in the presence of Arab monarchs and heads of state. In a ground breaking move, the Syrian opposition was granted Damascus' seat for the first time since the suspension of Syria's membership of the Arab League in 2011.
The summit opened with a speech from Iraqi Vice-President Khudair al-Khuzaie, whose country had hosted the previous summit, and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, chairman of this year's event.
Other speakers at the opening session included Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi, Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Davutoglu, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin ?hsano?lu, and Speaker of the Arab Parliament Ali el-Salem el-Dekbas.
The summit's final statement called on President Bashar al-Assad to realise the aspirations of the Syrian people through real democratic reforms and stop the "oppression, destruction and bloodshed."
Arab leaders also urged the United Nations Security Council to enforce a ceasefire in Syria and pave the way for national dialogue.
The statement called on Arab states to address the suffering of millions of displaced Syrians, and to "provide all form of support to the countries that host them."
In relation to the Palestinian issue, the statement said that the international community must promote a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, adding that this will only be achieved through a complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, the rejection of all forms of settlements, and the establishment of an independent sovereign state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The final statement urged the international community to resume negotiations based on United Nations' resolutions 242 and 338, the implementation of which would bring an end to the Israeli occupation and see a return to the 1967 borders.
The Arab states announced the formation of a ministerial delegation headed by Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani and representatives from Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, to conduct consultations with the UN Security Council, the US administration, Russia, China and the European Union to agree on a time frame for serious negotiations on the matter.
The statement referred to plans to hold an international conference on the Palestinian issue, and urged the US to refrain from using its power of veto against the Arab states' demand at the UN Security Council to accept Palestine as a member of the international community.
On Jerusalem, the statement reiterated support for the Arab identity of Jerusalem and rejected all Israeli actions aimed at "Judaising" the city.
The Arab League Summit welcomed the Emir of Qatar al-Thani's initiative to push the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution for the formation of an international commission to investigate Israeli crimes, in particular the blurring of the Islamic and Christian landmarks since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967.
In terms of the financial support for Jerusalem, a draft resolution of the summit called for the implementation of proposals approved at the 2010 Arab League Summit in Sert - namely increasing the aid to Jerusalem to $500 million.
On the Palestinian budget, the Arab League urged member states to meet their obligations to provide a financial safety net of $100 million a month to the Palestinian Authority (PA), and to form a delegation which would travel to Arab capital cities to address the financial crisis the Palestinians are facing.
The statement also reaffirmed Arab solidarity with the state of Lebanon and backed proposals to provide political and economic support for its government in order to preserve national unity.
On the future role of the Arab League, the summit welcomed the formation of a committee of member states to consider the proposals and recommendations outlined in the report of the bloc's Independent Commission, and to submit its conclusions to the Council of the Arab League Ministerial next September.
Regarding the creation of an Arab Court of Human Rights, the summit approved the establishment of such a court to promote, respect, and protect Arabs human rights. The states decided that a high level committee of legal experts would prepare the basic statute of the court and submit its conclusions to the League ministerial council.
In terms of expanding Arab trade with the creation of Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), the statement called for the adoption of detailed rules on how such a zone would operate.
The summit called for a timetable for the completion of negotiations on service sectors that the countries are willing to negotiate about, provided that this time table is completed before the end of 2013.
In relation to investment in the agriculture and food security sectors in the Arab world, the statement called on the Arab states to create the right climate for investment in the agriculture sector.
Speaking at the summit, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi warned global powers against meddling in Egypt's internal affairs. "We will not allow anyone to manipulate Egypt future, he said, adding that "the people of Egypt are thankful to everyone who stood by their side."
The Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir praised the Syrian people for their ability to overcome tough circumstances. The Sudanese leader declared his country's support for the Syrian people and vowed to support Arab efforts aimed at achieving stability in Syria.
Bashir claimed that Sudan is willing to receive Syrian students in its schools, and told the Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib to work with the regime forces to promote inner peace.
President Bashir also reviewed Sudan's relations with neighbouring Arab and African countries. He spoke of his interest in joint Arab efforts to support and strengthen the economies of the least developed countries, calling on investors to engage in large investment projects in Sudan to achieve food security in the Arab world.
Meanwhile, reform of the Arab League was a key discussion topic on the agenda in Doha, after successive Arab crises had highlighted the powerlessness of the Arab League and its poorly-drafted mechanisms.
Member states are still divided over the legitimacy of Syrian President Assad's regime, with nine countries keen to resume diplomatic relations with Syria, including  Lebanon, Algeria, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Oman, and Palestine.