The Summit Comes On The Heels Of Historic Agreement Uniting Palestinian Factions
November 2, 2022—Member of the 22-member Arab League met for the first time since 2019 in Algiers, Algeria Tuesday.
It is the first Arab League meeting since Israel normalized its relations with several Arab countries, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. It also comes on the heels of a successful effort on the part of Algerian President Abdulmajeed Tabboune to bring sparring Palestinian factions together.
On Tuesday, Tabboune welcomed the guests, saying that the League’s “central and primary cause” is the “Palestinian cause,” according to reporting by TRT World, a Turkish news broadcaster.
“The Palestinian question is the mother of all questions,” Tabboune said.
Economic Winners and Losers
The meeting also comes at a time when the world is reshaping itself amid the Russia-Ukraine war, supply chain turmoil, and shortages of food and fertilizer.
Economically, there are winners and losers in the league of Arab countries. Oil exporters like Saudi Arabia are clear winners in the pregame of world war. Meanwhile, commodity importers, like Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan, are taking hard hits of soaring prices. Still worse, Lebanon is still fighting to come out of an economic crisis.
Palestinian Reconciliation
In Mid-October, Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement and agreed to hold presidential elections within a year. The talks include 14 Palestinian factions. Signers of the deal included senior Fatah leader Azzam al-Ahmad; chief of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniya; and the secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Talal Naji, Al Jazeera reported.
Infighting among Palestinian politicians, representatives and terrorist fighters has been a major roadblock for reigniting long-stalled peace talks between Israel and Palestinians.
UN Support For Arab Peace
Secretary-General António Guterres lent support for the meeting, saying leadership in Arab world plays a vital role in shaping global peace and security. He encouraged the leaders to donate to the UN organization supporting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which he said is in financial crisis. He added that the United Nation’s goal is to advance peace and end the occupation.
“Our shared goal remains two States – Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security, with Al-Quds/Jerusalem as the capital of both States,” Guterres said, according to his press statement.
The UN chief also discussed financial support for developing countries, and the upcoming COP27 climate meeting in Egypt.
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