A meeting between the representatives of Arab states and Amr Moussa today will discuss Israel’s decision to build 1,600 settler homes in East Jerusalem
HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani yesterday expressed deep regrets over Israel’s decision to build 1,600 settler homes in East Jerusalem, calling for a “clear” Arab stance on the issue
Addressing a joint press conference with visiting Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa at Al-Wajba Palace in Doha, the Prime Minister said that Arab states would respond to Israel’s decision.
“There will be a meeting today between the representatives of Arab states and Amr Moussa,” HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said.
“There will be a clear decision in response to this Israeli act,” he said.
“We had already had doubts about Israel’s seriousness in the peace process, but we had given... (peace talks) an opportunity through our decision,” he said after meeting Moussa.
US Vice President Joe Biden and UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned Israel’s decision to build new settler homes in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem.
The Jewish state’s announcement came on Tuesday, two days after the Palestinians grudgingly agreed to indirect peace talks with Israel following months of US diplomacy.
Arab foreign ministers agreed last week to back one last round of indirect talks, despite their scepticism over Israel’s readiness to revive peace efforts.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday asked Moussa for “urgent policy measures” in response to “escalating Israeli provocations,” his office said.
“The insult has reached a point that not a single Arab could accept,” Moussa told reporters in Doha yesterday.
“Israel does not care about anybody, neither the mediator, nor the Palestinians,” Moussa said.
He warned Arab backing for indirect talks was “a temporary position,” hinting the Arab ministerial committee, which hesitantly supported the talks, might meet to reconsider its stance.
“The Arab ministerial committee might meet within days, and we will present the resolutions coming out of this meeting concerning the Israeli decision to the summit” of Arab leaders in Libya later this month, he said.
Sheikh Hamd bin Jassim downplayed the possibility of reaching a strong Arab stand on the issue during the summit.
“I do not expect a decisive Arab resolution concerning this issue at the summit. The (inter-) Arab situation is not well,” he said.
Responding to questions, the Prime Minister said Israel believed that no international decision would be taken against it, explaining that all were trying to persuade it “by the way that is best”. The situation, he said, needed an Arab stance.
Qatar currently holds the rotating presidency of the Arab League.
Responding to a question on the Darfur talks, the Prime Minister said talks were ongoing with all parties. “They may be slow but we made a positive step and there are other significant steps that should be made”.
The State of Qatar, which leads the Afro-Arab mediation efforts to settle peace in Darfur, was on daily contacts with all the parties, he said, explaining that some groups are present in Doha now.
Meanwhile, the Qatari Cabinet has called on the Israeli government to stop its “aggressive” practices that put the entire peace process in peril, leading to undermining the security and stability in the region. The Cabinet, during its regular meeting held at the Emiri Diwan, urged the international community, especially the United States, to press the Israeli government to stop the “aggressive” practices.
Agencies
Gulf Times
