The 29th Arab League summit concluded yesterday in Saudi Arabia’s eastern city of Dhahran, with leaders from 21 states attending it. The following are the main takeaways at the end of the one-day meeting.
Palestine
The final communiqué of the ‘Jerusalem Summit’ stressed the centrality of the Palestinian cause to the Arab nation, and the Arab identity of occupied East Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine.
The communiqué emphasised that peace remains a strategic Arab option as envisioned in the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which is the most comprehensive plan that is capable of achieving a historic peace deal. It branded the US decision recognising occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel null and void, adding that Arab nations categorically reject the idea of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The Jerusalem Summit welcomed the UN General Assembly’s decision on occupied Jerusalem, thanking all countries that supported it.
Iran
The Summit reaffirmed Arab support for all steps taken by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to protect themselves from foreign interference, calling on the international community to tighten sanctions on Iran and the militias it sponsors. It also called on the world community to prevent Iran from supporting terrorist organisations and providing the Al Houthi militia in Yemen with ballistic missiles that are being launched against Saudi cities. The summit rejected interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries, condemning the aggressive attempts aiming to destabilise security and spark sectarian strife in Arab nations.
Yemen
In addition, the statement strongly condemned the Iran-backed militia’s launching of 106 ballistic missiles, targeting Makkah, Riyadh and other Saudi cities. The communiqué emphasised that Arab nations support the Coalition’s efforts to uphold the legitimacy of the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi in Yemen, and to solve the crisis facing the country based on the Gulf Initiative, and the outcomes of the Yemeni National Dialogue Conference, as well as the UN Resolution 2216 of 2015.
The summit praised the reconstruction initiatives in Yemen, and the Coalition’s support for the Yemeni people.
Syria
The summit denounced the Syrian regime’s use of the internationally banned chemical weapons against the Syrian people, and called on the international community to stand up against these practices, so as to achieve justice and uphold the international humanitarian law.
The communiqué underlined the necessity of finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis and achieving the aspirations of the Syrian people, who are suffering from the ongoing aggression. It said that the solution must be based on the outcomes of Geneva 1 and the statement of the International Syria Support Group.
UAE islands
The final communiqué reaffirmed the UAE’s sovereignty in its three islands – Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Mousa – occupied by Iran. It called on Tehran to respond to the UAE’s initiative to find a peaceful solution to this issue, either through direct negotiations or international arbitration.
