Arab Peace Initiative committee to back Palestinians

The Arab Peace Initiative convened on Tuesday Cairo – Akram Ali Following a meeting that lasted until the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Arab Peace initiative’s Ministerial Council established a sub-committee to canvass international support for Palestinian the UN membership bid. The Council met last night in Cairo. Meeting attendees included the Qatari Prime Minister, the Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor al Thani and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Council discussed various aspects of the Palestinian bid, which has received full backing from the Arab states.
The application will be presented to the UN General Assembly in late September.
The Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al Arabi said at a joint news conference with Saeb Erekat, a member of the PLO’s Executive Committee, that: “Consultation and contacts will continue to achieve this objective.”
The Council will form a committee made up of Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim, Nabil Al Arabi, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine and Oman. The body will lobby international states to support the bid for statehood.
Bin Jassim said: "Arab states have made considerable progress in persuading the world to recognise the State of Palestine. Even Israel recognised the right of the Palestinian people to decide their own fate when it signed the Oslo agreement.”
"The committee includes representatives from most Arab states because the Palestinian issue is the focal point for all Arabs. It is one of the pillars of Arab politics, and is obviously the most sensitive issue."
The EU has said that it supports the establishment of a Palestinian state through Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
The EU foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, said: “there is wide support for Palestine from the majority of the world."
However, Erekat criticised the EU decision, stating that the current Israeli government has blocked negotiations, opting instead for the construction of new settlements.
Additionally, Erekat believes that UN recognition of Palestine will not undermine future negotiations, the principle of the two-state solution and the provisions of international law.
Meanwhile, Erekat lauded Al Arabi’s efforts within the international community, including through the Islamic Cooperation Organisation, the Non-Aligned Movement and his extensive contacts with China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria.
Erekat urged the US to reconsider its objection to the Arab move at the UN and to refrain from using its veto power.
Erekat said the Arabs are speaking in one voice on this issue and are merely seeking to reaffirm their rights according to the relevant UN resolutions.
The outcome of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee’s meeting will be presented to the 136th Arab ministerial conference scheduled for today at the Arab League. It will be presided over by Palestine.