AL emergency meeting over Israeli settlements kicks off
The Council of the Arab League (AL) on Monday kicked
off an emergency meeting for Arab foreign ministers to discuss Washington’s
changed policy on Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories.
The meeting, chaired by Iraq and attended by AL
Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit, was held at the request of Palestine with
the support of member states to consider “serious” developments regarding the
US administration’s stance on illegal Israeli settlements built on occupied
Arab lands.
Egypt’s delegation is headed by Foreign Minister
Sameh Shoukry.
The meeting is set to discuss the “serious” repercussions
of the US administration’s changed stance on settlements, particularly after US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repudiated a 1978 State Department legal opinion
that held that civilian settlements in the occupied territories are
“inconsistent with international law.”
The foreign ministers will discuss a decision for an
Arab action against such developments that weaken Palestinian claims to
statehood.
Saeed Abu Ali, AL Assistant Secretary-General for
Palestine and the Occupied Arab Territories, said the meeting aims to
crystallize a coordinated and collective Arab stance to confront such US step.
The meeting is also a part of an Arab action at
political, media and legal levels to face the US move and its consequences
worldwide, he added.
