Arab leaders pledge to rebuild Gaza, call for Palestinian unity

Jan 20, 2009, 13:23 GMT

Kuwait - Leaders of Arab countries agreed at a summit in Kuwait on Tuesday to rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip and called for a reconciliation of Palestinian factions.

The summit also demanded that Israel withdraw immediately from the strip and said Israel should be held responsible for any war crimes.

Rebuilding infrastructure that has been destroyed in Gaza would be the first priority of Arab governments, said Arab League chief, Amr Moussa in a press conference.

He also said Arab governments would seek to bring medical aid to Gaza, working with the UN and the Arab Bank, which said it had given 34 million dollars to the effort.

Moussa added that the rebuilding of Gaza would be discussed at mid-February in a meeting to be held in Cairo.

Arab states did not specify after the summit how much they would contribute to Gaza, although Saudi Arabia has already pledged 1 billion dollars in aid for Gaza. Kuwait promised another 500 million dollars. The rest of the Arab countries are expected to commit to a total of another 500 million dollars in reconstruction funds and humanitarian aid.

On Monday, Saudi King Abdullah called on all Arab leaders to unite and end disputes about the appropriate diplomatic response to the conflict in Gaza.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has divided Arab neighbours, who differ on their stance toward the militant Islamist movement Hamas.

King Abdullah on Monday had urged Israel to accept a six-year-old, comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace plan, saying it 'will not remain on the table forever.'

The plan promises normalisation of Arab relations with Israel in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from territories it has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a 'just settlement' of the Palestinian refugee question.

'Israel must realise that the choice between war and peace is not open-ended, and a peace proposal will not remain on the table forever,' King Abdullah said.

The 22 members of the Arab League announced in the final declaration for the summit the intention to establish an Arab customs union by 2015 and an expansion of the railway links between the Arab states.