Earlier in March, Tunisian Foreign Minister Khamies Jhinaoui said the readmission of Syria, which was suspended from the body in 2011 in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, would be on the summit’s agenda. In their discussions, the EU and the League of Arab States reaffirmed that stronger regional cooperation is the key to find common solutions to common challenges. “First, appeals to ‘international law’ will be laughable, given the ongoing interventions in Yemen and likely war crimes there, as well as the impotence of the Arab countries to halt the atrocities of Syria,” he said. Tunis, Tunisia – Eight years after chants of “the people want the fall of the regime” swept across North Africa and the Middle East, echoes of the same demand are making waves again in parts of the Arab region. “We wished for this summit to be an occasion to bring together all the Arabs, leaving no vacant seats,” the host, President Michel Aoun of Lebanon, lamented in a speech that kicked off Sunday’s gathering. It puts us in an embarrassing position,” al-Maliki concluded. In Yemen, Saudi Arabia and its partners in the United Arab Emirates are mired in a war against the Houthis, a rebel group, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and thrust millions to the edge of famine. Al-Maliki said that the PA had applied for an emergency meeting of the Arab League following the announcement of the normalization deal. BEIRUT — The eyes of the world were nowhere near Beirut, where the kings and presidents of the Arab world had been ceremoniously summoned to a summit of the Arab League over the weekend and had, in all but two cases, ceremoniously declined. Nothing will happen.”. Is it an anachronism? "Combined, the Member States of the League of Arab States and the European Union account for 12% of the world's population. However, a move last week by US President Donald Trump to officially recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied from Syria in 1967, has overshadowed Damascus’s potential reinstatement. Bishara was previously a professor of International Relations at the American University of Paris. Leaders of the EU and the League of Arab States (LAS) agreed to strengthen their partnershipat the first summit ever held between the two regions. Soon came the cold water and the official denials: There had been no such princely largess, and the emir left Beirut after only a brief stop at the summit on Sunday morning. The league completely also ignored the Gulf crisis at the behest of Saudi Arabia. “The congress aims to boost cooperation between Africa and Arabs, particularly in the agricultural field, one of the main items on the agenda of next month’s Riyadh summit,” he added. Asked whether the Arab League was satisfied with the progress of Arab-African cooperation after several meetings were held in this regard, he replied that efforts were ongoing to strengthen these ties, which he described as broad and wide-ranging. There is bad blood between Lebanon and Libya. As outlined by the High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini, the Leaders had constructive, serious and thorough discussions on regional issues such as the Middle East Peace Process, recent developments in Syria, Libya and Yemen and reaffirmed their commitment to the UN-led processes and full support to the UN Special Envoys/ Representatives. But while Aboul Gheit released a statement reaffirming the League’s support for the Arab Peace Initiative, no condemnation of the UAE-Israel normalization pact was forthcoming. What do you do when there’s a hole in the boat? Remarks by Pres… Jan. 20, 2019; BEIRUT — The eyes of the world were nowhere near Beirut, where the kings and presidents of the Arab world had been ceremoniously summoned to a summit of the Arab League … But Arab leaders have generally chosen to double down on repression and corruption, and persisted in their zero-sum policies, domestically and regionally, that have weakened Arab solidarity and determination. A spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that the state of Palestine sought to “maintain brotherly relations with all Arab countries on the basis of mutual respect, with the latter necessitating adherence to the Arab Peace Initiative.”, On Tuesday night, Reuters reported that the Palestinians were set to soften their stance at the League and present a resolution which would affirm that the UAE-Israel normalization treaty “doesn’t diminish Arab consensus over the Palestinian cause… the Palestinian cause is the cause of the entire Arab nation.”. At Arab League summit, frustrated Palestinians call for condemnation of UAE deal, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki calls on the Arab League to condemn normalization between the United Arab Emirates and Israel on September 9, 2020 (Screenshot: WAFA), Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki attends the opening session of the Arab foreign ministers meeting ahead of the Arab Summit, in Tunis, March 29, 2019. Arab leaders pose for the camera ahead of the 30th Arab Summit in Tunis, Tunisia on March 31, 2019 [The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via Reuters] What is the point of Arab summitry… For Yom, the Arab League can be useful at a marginal level. But judging by history and the current state of affairs, all such attempts have ended in miserable failure to protect not just the pan-Arab interest, but also the country-specific interests of Arab peoples. In September 2019, the Arab League condemned Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to annex the eastern portion of the occupied West Bank known as the Jordan Valley. There’s nothing revolutionary or sexy about successful regional endeavours. Lebanon would pay. Sharm El-Sheikh summit declaration The summit marked the start ofa new dialogue between the EU and the LAS. Leaders from the 28 EU Member States and the 21 countries of the League of Arab States, as well as the Secretary General of League of Arab States, were also invited. Share on Twitter ... Iraq and Saudi Arabia, aiming to pave the way for a re-admission at next month’s Arab League summit in Tunis.