SIRTE, Libya - Arab leaders opened their summit yesterday with a stern warning that the Middle East peace process is doomed unless Israel freezes Jewish settlements in annexed East Jerusalem. In the face of the apparent deadlock, however, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon, invited to address the summit, appealed for Arab leaders to support US-led efforts to initiate "proximity" talks between Israel and the Palestinians. "I urge you to support efforts to start proximity talks and direct negotiations. Our common goal should be to resolve all final-status issues within 24 months," Ban said. He reiterated that Israel's settlement activity in East Jerusalem was "illegal" and stressed "Jerusalem's significance to all must be respected, and it should emerge from negotiations as the capital of two states". Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile, blasted Israel's policy of considering the whole of Jerusalem as its united capital as "madness". "This is madness and it does not commit us in any way," he told the gathering in Sirte, speaking through an interpreter. "Jerusalem is the apple of the eye of each and every Muslim... and we cannot at all accept any Israeli violation in Jerusalem or in Muslim sites," the Turkish premier said. It is the first annual summit to be hosted by the maverick Moammar Gaddafi who considers Israel an implacable "enemy" of the Arabs. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has set the tone for the Sirte summit by insisting that Israel scrap the new settlement plans before indirect talks with the Palestinians can start. "Indirect Palestinian-Israeli peace talks depend on freezing settlements and especially on cancelling plans by Israel to build 1,600 settlements in (east) Jerusalem," he said. He also asked leaders to examine at the summit "the chances of failure of the peace process" due to Israeli policies. "Arab states should prepare for the possibility that the Palestinian Israeli peace process may be a total failure and prepare alternatives," Moussa said. He did not specify what the alternatives might be, but one possibility is a revival of an initiative first proposed eight years ago under, which Arab countries would normalise ties with Israel in exchange for the latter's handover of all occupied Arab territories. "It's time to face Israel. We have to have alternative plans because the situation has reached a turning point," Moussa said. "The peace process has entered a new stage, perhaps the last stage. We have accepted the efforts of mediators," he added. On Iran, Moussa acknowledged member states had differences with Tehran, but said they had common interests too. "We have to open a dialogue with Iran. I know there is a worry among Arabs regarding Iran but this situation confirms the necessity of a dialogue with Iran," he said. The Arab League chief also proposed creating a regional grouping that would bring together Arab states and Turkey. Arab leaders from both the pro-Western and radical camps have also been angered by the opening of a restored 17th-century synagogue near East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ��" home to Islam's third holiest site. They see such acts as a clear intention by Israel to "Judaise" the Holy City and undermine chances for a peace agreement with the Palestinians who consider east Jerusalem the capital of their future state. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the summit a future Palestinian state would be meaningless without Jerusalem as its capital. Jordan's King Abdullah II had warned ahead of the summit that Israel was "playing with fire", while Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also attending the summit said his country stood ready if "war is imposed" by Israel. Arab leaders are expected today to ratify an agreement drafted by their foreign ministers to raise 500 million dollars in aid to improve living conditions for Palestinians in Jerusalem as part of a "rescue" plan for the city. Thirteen leaders from the 22-member Arab League accepted Gaddafi's invitation to attend the summit which Libya hopes could dispel lingering inter-Arab feuds and chronic disputes that have marred previous gatherings. Gaddafi, the longest-serving Arab head of state, also invited Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as well as Erdogan and Ban to address the opening session. The flamboyant Libyan leader, known for rambling speeches and riling Arab and Western leaders alike with provocative statements, surprised his hosts with brief remarks at the opening session when he called for "action not words".
