Saudi Arabia pledges $1bn to rebuild Gaza

[LahoreEstate]

* Kuwait to provide UNRWA $34million for relief work
* Syrian president asks Arab states to declare Israel ‘terrorist state’

KUWAIT CITY: Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on Monday announced the donation of one billion dollars for the reconstruction of Gaza and called for putting an end to Arab differences.

“On behalf of the Saudi people, I declare the donation of one billion dollars for programmes to rebuild Gaza,” the Saudi monarch said at the opening session of an Arab summit in Kuwait. “We have to overcome Arab political differences that led to a division in the Arab ranks which can be exploited by those who want to achieve their regional ambitions” King Abdullah said. He also warned that the Arab peace initiative “will not remain on the table forever.”

Kuwait: Arab leaders are tipped to approve the setting up of a two-billion dollar fund for the reconstruction of Gaza. Kuwait’s ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah announced at the summit’s opening his country will donate all 34 million dollars needed by the UN relief agency for refugees, or UNRWA, for its Gaza Strip relief work. Qatar last week suggested the setting up of a fund for Gaza and donated 250 million dollars.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged Arab leaders to join together in supporting Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his efforts to reunite the war-ravaged Gaza Strip with the West Bank. Speaking a day after Israel and Hamas announced separate ceasefires, Ban also said that Arab unity was crucial if the three-week Gaza conflict was not to be repeated in the future. “The Palestinians themselves must face the challenge of reconciliation, and work to achieve a unified government under the leadership of President Abbas,” Ban told the Arab League summit. “I call on all Arab leaders to unite and support this endeavour. We cannot rebuild Gaza without Palestinian unity.” The Gaza conflict has divided Arab countries, as recent meetings of Gulf states have shown. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who negotiated with both Hamas and the Israelis to get a ceasefire, called for uniting all Palestinian factions in his speech at the summit.

Abbas, who still controls the West Bank, is seen as weak and ineffectual by leaders of some Arab countries. Ban has been touring the Middle East for a week urging Israeli leaders and Arab governments to do everything in their power to end the fighting in Gaza and prevent the humanitarian crisis for the enclave’s 1.5 million people from worsening.

He told reporters during the flight to Kuwait that if Arab states remain divided on Abbas and Palestinian unity, there was “no guarantee this (the Gaza conflict) will not happen again.” In his speech in Kuwait, Ban reiterated that Israel must reopen border crossings with Gaza, allow humanitarian aid in and withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Likewise, he urged Hamas to stop firing rockets at southern Israel. But a permanent solution, he said, would require a return to the stalled Middle East peace process. “A true end to violence, and lasting security for both Palestinians and Israelis, will only come through a just and comprehensive settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict,” he said. “The (Israeli) occupation that began in 1967 must end.”

Syria: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the Arab League summit that Israel should be branded a terrorist state for its 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip. “Arabs should declare an unequivocal support for the Palestinian resistance ... I call on the Arab summit to officially declare Israel as a terrorist state for the crime it did in Gaza,” Assad said. “Ceasefire does not mean the end of aggression as the invading forces are still in Gaza,” the Syrian leader said, urging “Arab solidarity... for our causes.” agencies

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg4_1