Splits and weaknesses in the Arab world
were fully exposed today after the Palestinian delegation announcing it had pulled out of a summit here already reeling from the "no-show" of other key players.
The Palestinians pulled out after Lebanese President and summit chairman Emile Lahoud blocked Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from delivering a speech by satellite hook-up from his headquarter in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where Arafat has been penned up by the Israeli army for four months.
"We have decided to pull out of the summit after the personal refusal of the president of the summit (Lahoud) to allow President Arafat to address his Arab peers via satellite," a delegate member told AFP.
The Palestinian delegation was demanding an official explanation for the snub of Mr Arafat.
Two other key players in efforts to find an end to the 18-month-old Palestinian uprising - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan - were also absent from the summit, which was due to endorse a Saudi initiative for peace with Israel.
"This summit, which was meant to be an opportunity to express a message of unity around a desire for peace, shows that neither peace nor war can unite the Arab leaders," a veteran politician told AFP.
AFP