Dina Ezzat reports on what the Arab League is doing about the current Middle East crisis Against a backdrop of intensifying Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the Palestinians under occupation in Gaza, and in line with the failure of the international community, as represented in UN Security Council meetings the past two days, to put pressure on Israel to end its aggression, Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo Saturday to consider ways of containing the explosive situation in the Middle East. The emergency Arab foreign ministers meeting, scheduled to last for just one day, is being held upon the invitation of Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. Its main objective, Arab diplomatic sources agree, is to find a way to contain "the current open war" that could last for weeks as is widely feared in Arab diplomatic quarters. Arab diplomatic sources say that Lebanon, Egypt and the Arab League have three drafts for a final resolution to be adopted by the end of today's meetings. The resolutions, all parties hope, would send a signal of willingness to end the current crisis as part of a deal accepted by all parties. Given that the UN has failed to ask for a cease-fire and given that Israeli generals have openly threatened to continue their operations against Lebanon and Gaza for as long as they deem necessary to break down the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah and the militant wing of Hamas, Arab capitals, especially Cairo, Amman and Riyadh, are concerned about the impact of this war on overall regional stability. Moreover, several Arab capitals, are concerned that the explicit support accorded by Tehran to both Hezbollah and Hamas could lead to greater Iranian influence in the region. "This is why the Saudis and to an extent the Egyptians and Jordanians have in a way put the blame on Hezbollah and Hamas for having unwisely provoked Israel," commented an Arab diplomat who asked to remain anonymous. After close to three weeks of vicious Israeli attacks on Gaza and three days of an equally aggressive onslaught on Lebanon, Arab capitals have failed to put together a firm enough reaction to prompt Israel or the international community to put a halt to the attacks. Rather the opposite, several Arab capitals have issued statements indicating that it is the Hamas and Hezbollah kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers in two separate operations that have prompted the current state of war. Moreover, some Arab capitals have blamed Syria for acting along with Iran in encouraging Hezbollah and Hamas operations which were described in a joint Egyptian-Jordanian statement on Thursday as "miscalculated adventures". Hamas, Hezbollah and large segments of Arab public opinion have reacted with measured anger. Syria too, as some of its Cairo-based diplomats indicate, has made it clear to the concerned Arab capitals that their stances are not welcomed by Damascus. This split in opinion was unmistakable during closed-door meetings by the Arab League's first session this morning. The proposed Lebanese draft resolution contains clear language condemning Israel and supporting the right of Lebanon and other Arab countries to resist the Israeli occupation. "The Arab world cannot deny the heroics of Hezbollah and we expect our Arab brethren to take our side," Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Saloukh said on the eve of the meetings. For its part, the Egyptian draft resolution seems to be more focused on underlining the importance of ending hostilities and resuming talks between Israel and all concerned Arab parties. "Egypt is very disturbed about the current plight facing Lebanon and the Palestinians and we want them to find their way out of this crisis and back to the peace negotiating table," Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Egyptian foreign minister, said. The middle-of-the-ground Arab League resolution contains bits and pieces of the positions of both camps: those who want to stress the condemnation of Israel and seek the support of the international community, and those who wish to get a commitment from Hamas and Hezbollah to release the kidnapped Israeli soldiers in order to secure an agreement with Israel over a cease-fire. The meetings are expected to continue, behind closed doors, until late into the night. Meanwhile, Israel continued its attacks against Lebanese and Palestinian civilian targets, increasing the death toll and the number of casualties.
