Tunis, Tunisia - Arab leaders meeting in Tunis have issued a renewed call for the establishment of a Palestinian state and condemned a move by the United States to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

Held in Tunisia's capital, the 30th Arab League summit kicked off on Sunday against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts, serious divisions and unrest - from the long-running wars in Syria and Yemen to Libya's instability, and from mass anti-government protests in Algeria and Sudan to a major diplomatic dispute in the Gulf.

In a speech opening the summit, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia reiterated his kingdom's support for a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi echoed the king's speech, reiterating the significance of the Palestinian cause to the Arab world as he issued a call for unity.

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"It is unreasonable for the Arab region to continue to be at the forefront of tensions and crises," Essebsi, the host of the summit, said.

Arab leaders - including Salman, Essebsi and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi - also condemned US President Donald Trump's recent recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, which Israel seized in the 1967 war.

"We reiterate our categorical rejection of measures that would undermine Syrian sovereignty over the Golan," King Salman said.

However, expectations for any concrete action were low, partly due to the close ties regional powerhouses such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have cultivated with the Trump administration, viewing it as a key ally against their main rival, Iran.

"There is very little intention to come up with very clear outcomes other than the usual discourse of establishing Palestine right and the general Arab stance on regional issues," Majed al-Ansari, professor of political sociology at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera.

"I don't believe I've heard anything that would constitute a new trend in what would come out of the summit," Ansari said.

No Bouteflika, Bashir

Meanwhile, Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his Sudanese counterpart, Omar al-Bashir, did not attend the meeting in Tunis. In recent weeks, they have both faced growing calls to step down as thousands have taken to the streets calling for political change.

The readmission of Syria back into the League, from which it was suspended in 2011 following President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, was expected to be on the summit's agenda.

But officials speaking ahead of the meeting said it was unlikely Syria would be welcomed back any time soon.

The UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus last year, and other Arab states have expressed support for restoring relations.

But Saudi Arabia and Qatar have actively supported the rebels trying to overthrow Assad, and many other states view his government as an Iranian proxy that should continue to be shunned.

Commenting on the calls for unity amid the ongoing divisions and unrest, Ansari noted that the Arab League has a history of hollow statements not followed by actions.

"We also know that the declarations and talk about Arab unity that come out of the summit do not materialise in any shape or form," he said.</s>TUNIS (Reuters) - Arab leaders said on Sunday they would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution against the U.S. decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and promised to support Palestinians in their bid for statehood.

FILE PHOTO: An Israeli soldier stands next to signs pointing out distances to different cities, on Mount Bental, an observation point in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that overlooks the Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing, Israel May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

Arab leaders, long divided by regional rivalries, also ended their annual summit in Tunisia calling for cooperation with non-Arab Iran based on non-interference in each others’ affairs.

Arab leaders who have been grappling with a bitter Gulf Arab dispute, splits over Iran’s regional influence, the war in Yemen and unrest in Algeria and Sudan sought common ground after Washington recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan.

But the abrupt departure from the summit shortly after it began by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who is locked in a row with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, suggested rivalries were not easily buried. No reason was given for his departure.

“We, the leaders of the Arab countries gathered in Tunisia ... express our rejection and condemnation of the United States decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan,” Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.

He said Arab countries would present a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council and seek a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice on the U.S. decision. It warned other countries away from following Washington’s lead.

Trump signed a proclamation last week recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, which annexed the area in 1981 after capturing it from Syria in 1967.

Trump’s earlier decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital also drew Arab condemnation. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz told the Arab leaders his country “absolutely rejects” any measures affecting Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Related Coverage Arab leaders call for good neighborly ties with Iran

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said Arab nations needed to ensure the international community understood the centrality of the Palestinian cause to Arab nations.

In their final communique, Arab states renewed support for an Arab peace initiative that offers Israel peace in exchange for withdrawal from all lands occupied in the 1967 war and said they would seek to revive peace talks with the Jewish state.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who also addressed the meeting in Tunis, said any resolution to the Syrian conflict must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria “including the occupied Golan Heights”.

RIFTS REMAIN

The Tunis summit brought together the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the first time at the same gathering since 2017 when Riyadh and its allies imposed a political and economic boycott on Doha.

But Qatar’s emir left the summit hall shortly after Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit praised the way Saudi Arabia handled its rotating Arab League presidency last year, live television footage showed.

Qatar’s state news agency did not say why the Qatari emir left, but Tunisia’s state news agency TAP said the rest of Qatar’s delegation stayed.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and say it has been cozying up to Iran, a charge Doha denies.

The row has defied mediation efforts by Kuwait and the United States, which called on Gulf Arab states to unite in opposition to Iranian influence in the region.

Slideshow (14 Images)

The final communique said Arab states called for ties with Iran to “be based on good neighborliness, non-interference in internal affairs, the non-use of force or threats, and refraining from practices and actions that would undermine confidence and stability in the region.”

Arab states remain divided over other issues, including how to deal with pro-democracy protests that have erupted in the region since 2011. The presidents of Sudan and Algeria, two nations roiled by anti-government protests, did not attend the summit.

Syria’s seat at the summit was vacant. Damascus as been suspended from the League since 2011 over its crackdown on protesters at the start of its civil war. The League has said no consensus has yet been reached to allow Syria’s reinstatement.</s>Hussein Malla, AFP | Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi (R) welcomes Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah upon his arrival at Tunis-Carthage international airport on March 30, 2019, to attend the Arab Summit.

Arab heads of state, long divided by regional rivalries, are expected to unite at a summit on Sunday in the Tunisian capital to oppose a US decision recognising Israel’s annexation of Arab lands captured in 1967.

Arab leaders are already grappling with unrest in Algeria and Sudan, international pressure over the war in Yemen, regional splits over Iran’s influence in the Middle East and a bitter Gulf Arab dispute.

They face a new challenge after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation last week recognising the Golan Heights as Israeli, less than four months after recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Arab officials said the summit would be dominated by the Golan Heights and Palestinian demands for an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas also occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said on Sunday that he “absolutely rejects” any measures that impact Syrian sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Addressing the summit, he also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s position supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Also speaking at the summit, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said that the League needed to send a message on the importance of establishing a Palestinian state.

Regional and international stability should come through "a just and comprehensive settlement that includes the rights of the Palestinian people and leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," Essebsi said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that any resolution to the Syrian conflict must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria including the occupied Golan Heights.

Guterres said two-state solution for Israel and Palestine was an “imperative”.

He also welcomed efforts towards a peaceful and democratic transition in Algeria “that addresses the concerns of the Algerian people in a timely way”.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Saturday Arab ministers had expressed support for a proposal to declare that the US move violated the UN charter against acquiring land by force.

They also agreed to back Syria’s right to regain Golan and Lebanon’s right to the Shebaa farms, a small strip of land next to the Golan claimed by Beirut, he tweeted.

Summit spokesman Mahmoud Al-Khmeiry said Arab leaders would repeat an Arab call for peace with Israel in exchange for occupied Arab lands and would reject any initiative not in line with UN resolutions.

Khmeiry appeared to be referring to a still-unannounced US peace plan by White House adviser Jared Kushner and Trump son-in-law that Palestinians have refused to discuss.

Trump’s aides have said his moves have drawn a less severe private reaction from Arab states than experts had predicted.

While opposition to Israel and its actions can unite the 22-member Arab League, Arab states remain divided over a range of other issues, including pro-democracy protests that have erupted in the region since 2011 and over Iran’s Middle East influence.

Ibrahim al-Assaf, foreign minister of Sunni Muslim powerhouse Saudi Arabia, said on Friday that Shi’ite Muslim rival Iran remained the biggest threat to the region.

The Tunis summit will be the first time the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar have attended the same gathering since 2017, when Riyadh and its allies imposed a political and economic boycott on Doha. Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and cosying up to Iran, a charge Doha denies.

The leaders of Sudan and Algeria are not expected to attend, with both nations roiled by anti-government protests.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria’s ailing, 82-year-old president who has ruled for 20 years, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, in power for three decades and wanted by international prosecutors for alleged war crimes in his country’s Darfur region, are both facing calls to step down.

Syria has been suspended from the Arab League since 2011 over its crackdown on protesters at the start of the civil war. The League has said there was still no consensus to allow Syria’s reinstatement.</s>TUNIS, Tunisia — The Arab League rejected the U.S. recognition of Israeli control over the Golan Heights and other Trump administration policies seen as unfairly biased toward Israel at an annual summit on Sunday, showcasing unity on one of the few issues that unites the regional bloc.

Arab leaders also reiterated their commitment to resolving the conflict based on the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, in which they would recognize Israel in return for a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights as well as east Jerusalem and the West Bank, lands occupied in the 1967 war.

This year’s Arab League summit, held in Tunisia, comes against a grim backdrop of ongoing wars in Syria and Yemen, rival authorities in Libya and a lingering boycott of Qatar by four fellow League members.

Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir skipped the meeting as they contend with mass protests against their long reigns. Syria, a founding member, was expelled in 2011 during the early days of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

Representatives from the 22-member league — minus Syria — jointly condemned President Donald Trump’s recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights and his decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

In their final statement after the daylong summit, the leaders affirmed that the Golan, a strategic plateau once used to shell northern Israel, is “Syria’s occupied territory.”

At the opening of the summit, King Salman said Saudi Arabia “absolutely rejects any measures undermining Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights” and supports the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

He added that Iran’s meddling was to blame for instability in the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran are locked in proxy wars in Yemen and Syria, and back opposing groups in Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq.

Calling the meeting “the summit of resolve and solidarity,” Host-country Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi decried “regional and international interventions” in Arab affairs.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said Iran and Turkey have “worsened some crises and created new problems,” calling on Arab leaders to “unite as one force under one umbrella against the regional interventions.”

One of the few things that have united the Arab League over the last 50 years is the rejection of Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights as well as east Jerusalem and the West Bank, territories that the Palestinians want for their future state.

The international community, including the United States, largely shared that position until Trump upended decades of U.S. policy by moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem last year and recognizing Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan earlier this month. U.S. officials say both moves recognize reality on the ground and contribute to Israel’s security.

The Arab leaders meeting in Tunisia condemned those policies but did not announce any further action.

That’s in part because regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have cultivated close ties with the Trump administration, viewing it as a key ally against their main rival, Iran. Both face Western pressure over their devastating three-year war with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and Riyadh is still grappling with the fallout from the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents last year.

In Syria, small protests against Trump’s Golan move were held and state media criticized the Arab summit. “The Golan is not awaiting support from the Arabs, and not a statement to condemn what Trump has done,” the Thawra newspaper said in an editorial that accused Arab leaders of taking their orders from the U.S. and Israel.

The Arab League had been expected to consider readmitting Syria, but there was no reference to the subject in the final statement.

The United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus last year, and other Arab states have voiced support for restoring relations. But Saudi Arabia and Qatar have actively supported the rebels trying to overthrow Assad, and other states view his government as an Iranian proxy that should continue to be shunned.

Some countries were represented by their heads of state on Sunday, while others sent lower-level delegations. The UAE sent the lesser-known Fujairah ruler Hamad bin Mohammed al-Sharqi rather than the powerful Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed or Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the meeting, along with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and African Union Commission chair Moussa Faki.

Guterres reiterated international support for an Israeli and a Palestinian state “living side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, and with Jerusalem as capital of both states.”

“There is no Plan B: without two states, there is no solution,” he said.

In a rare sign of easing tensions, King Salman and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, sat at the same sprawling table at Sunday’s opening session. It was the first time the two leaders have appeared in the same room since Saudi Arabia led the boycott of Qatar nearly two years ago over Doha’s ties to Iran and its support for regional Islamist groups.

But Qatar’s emir left the summit after the opening session and did not address the summit or attend the closed-door meeting later in the day, according to Qatar’s state-run news agency.

It did not give a reason for his early departure.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb In Beirut contributed to this report.</s>TUNIS (Reuters) - Arab leaders, long divided by regional rivalries, condemned on Sunday a U.S. decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and said Middle East stability depended on creating an Palestinian state.

Arab leaders, gathering at summit in Tunis, have been under popular pressure to reject Washington’s action, while they also grapple with regional differences, including a bitter Gulf Arab dispute, splits over Iran’s regional influence, the war in Yemen and unrest in Algeria and Sudan.

The abrupt departure from the summit of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who is locked in a row with Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies, suggested regional differences were not easily buried. No reason was given for his departure.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz told Arab monarchs, presidents and prime ministers at the meeting that his country “absolutely rejects” any measures affecting Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

President Donald Trump’s signed a proclamation last week recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, which annexed the area in 1981 after capturing it from Syria in 1967.

The Saudi king’s condemnation echoed those of Arab officials before Sunday’s summit of the Arab League, which usually ends with a final declaration agreed by the 22 member states.

Trump’s Golan decision followed a U.S. move less than four months ago to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a decision that also drew Arab condemnation. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said Arab leaders also needed to ensure the international community understood the importance of the Palestinian cause to Arab nations.

Regional and international stability should come through “a just and comprehensive settlement that includes the rights of the Palestinian people and leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Essebsi said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the meeting in Tunis, said any resolution to the Syrian conflict must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria “including the occupied Golan Heights”.

The Tunis summit brought together the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the first time at the same gathering since 2017 when Riyadh and its allies imposed a political and economic boycott on Doha.

But Qatar’s emir left the summit hall shortly after Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit praised the way Saudi Arabia handled its rotating Arab League presidency last year, live television footage showed.

Qatar’s state news agency did not say why Tamim left, but Tunisia’s state news agency TAP said the rest of Qatar’s delegation stayed.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and say it has been cosying up to Iran, a charge Doha denies.

The row has defied mediation efforts by Kuwait and the United States, which called Gulf Arab states to unite in opposition to Iranian influence in the region.

King Salman, whose country has long vied with Iran for influence, called for confronting what he called the “aggressive policies of the Iranian regime”. He said Iran was interfering in Arab affairs, a charge Tehran dismisses.

Arab states remain divided over other issues, including how to deal with pro-democracy protests that have erupted in the region since 2011.

The leaders of Sudan and Algeria were not at Sunday’s meeting as both nations have been roiled by anti-government protests.

Syria’s seat at the summit was vacant. Damascus as been suspended from the League since 2011 over its crackdown on protesters at the start of its civil war. The League has said no consensus has yet been reached to allow Syria’s reinstatement.</s>TUNIS, Tunisia — The Arab League rejected the U.S. recognition of Israeli control over the Golan Heights and other Trump administration policies seen as unfairly biased toward Israel at an annual summit on Sunday, showcasing unity on one of the few issues that unites the regional bloc.

Arab leaders also reiterated their commitment to resolving the conflict based on the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, in which they would recognize Israel in return for a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights as well as east Jerusalem and the West Bank, lands occupied in the 1967 war.

This year’s Arab League summit, held in Tunisia, comes against a grim backdrop of ongoing wars in Syria and Yemen, rival authorities in Libya and a lingering boycott of Qatar by four fellow League members.

Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir skipped the meeting as they contend with mass protests against their long reigns. Syria, a founding member, was expelled in 2011 during the early days of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

Representatives from the 22-member league — minus Syria — jointly condemned President Trump’s recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights and his decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

In their final statement after the daylong summit, the leaders affirmed that the Golan, a strategic plateau once used to shell northern Israel, is “Syria’s occupied territory.”

At the opening of the summit, King Salman said Saudi Arabia “absolutely rejects any measures undermining Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights” and supports the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

He added that Iran’s meddling was to blame for instability in the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran are locked in proxy wars in Yemen and Syria, and back opposing groups in Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq.

Calling the meeting “the summit of resolve and solidarity,” host-country Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi decried “regional and international interventions” in Arab affairs.</s>Leaders meeting in Tunisia for the annual Arab League summit were united in their condemnation of Trump administration policies seen as unfairly biased toward Israel.

This year’s summit comes against a backdrop of ongoing wars in Syria and Yemen, rival authorities in Libya and a lingering boycott of Qatar by four fellow League members.

Algeria’s president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir skipped the meeting as they contend with mass protests against their long reigns.

Representatives from the 22-member league — not including Syria — aim to jointly condemn US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Israeli control over the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 war, and Mr Trump’s decision last year to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

But they remain divided on a host of other issues, including whether to readmit founding member Syria.

At the opening of the summit, King Salman said Saudi Arabia “absolutely rejects any measures undermining Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights” and supports the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

He added that Iran’s meddling was to blame for instability in the region.

One of the few things that has united the Arab League over the last 50 years is the rejection of Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights as well as east Jerusalem and the West Bank, territories seized in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their future state.

The international community, including the United States, largely shared that position until Mr Trump upended decades of US policy by moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem last year and recognising Israel’s 1981 annexation of the strategic Golan plateau earlier this month.

The Arab leaders meeting in Tunisia are expected to issue a statement condemning those moves, but are unlikely to take any further action.

This is in part because regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have cultivated close ties with the Trump administration, viewing it as a key ally against their main rival, Iran.

Both face Western pressure over their devastating three-year war with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and Riyadh is still grappling with the fallout from the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents last year.

Lebanon’s foreign minister Gebran Bassil said on Saturday that Arab ministers had voiced support in a preparatory meeting for a declaration that Mr Trump’s Golan move violates the UN Charter, which prohibits acquiring territories by force.

In Syria, small protests against Mr Trump’s Golan move were held in different parts of the country and state media criticised the Arab summit.

“The Golan is not awaiting support from the Arabs, and not a statement to condemn what Trump has done,” the Thawra newspaper said in an editorial that accused Arab leaders of taking their orders from the US and Israel.

The Arab League is expected to consider readmitting Syria, a founding member that was expelled in the early days of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad.

But officials speaking ahead of the meeting said it was unlikely Syria would be welcomed back anytime soon.

The United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus last year, and other Arab states have expressed support for restoring relations.

But Saudi Arabia and Qatar have actively supported the rebels trying to overthrow Mr Assad, and many other states view his government as an Iranian proxy that should be shunned.

In a rare sign of easing tensions across another regional rift, King Salman and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sat at the same sprawling table when the heads of delegations met on Sunday.

It is the first time the two leaders have appeared in the same room since Saudi Arabia led the boycott of Qatar nearly two years ago over Doha’s ties to Iran and its support for regional Islamist groups.</s>TUNIS: The Arab world on Sunday in a united voice rejected US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Israel’s claim to sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Gathering for an annual summit in Tunisia, Arab leaders denounced the step and warned it would further inflame tensions in the region. Delegated by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, His Highness Sayyid Asaad bin Tareq al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs, Personal Representative of His Majesty the Sultan, led the Sultanate’s delegation at the Arab Summit in the presence of leaders and presidents of Arab governments.

“We underline again our categorical rejection of any measures which can affect Syria’s sovereignty over Golan,” said Saudi King Salman. His remarks echoed those of senior Arab officials before Sunday’s summit of the Arab League, which ended with a final declaration agreed by the 22 member states. Israel seized the strategic Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Israel annexed the territory in 1981, though this move has not been recognised internationally. Last week, Trump signed a proclamation endorsing Israel’s rule over Golan in a ceremony at the White House attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The move followed last year’s relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, sparking anger in the Muslim world. “Trump’s recognition of Israel’s sovereignty on Golan and his earlier recognition of Jerusalem as (Israel’s) capital violate all international resolutions,” Lebanese President Michel Aoun said at the meeting. “Trump’s decision not only threatens the sovereignty of a sisterly country (Syria), but also the sovereignty of the Lebanese state that has lands which Israel has gradually bitten (into),” he added in Arabic, referring to a disputed border area with Israel. The Arab League summit rejected Trump’s decision and called it “invalid,” according to a final statement draft.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned against “more dangerous” steps from the Trump administration. League head Ahmed Abdul Gheit was sharply critical of Trump’s decision. “Occupation is a crime and legalising (it) is a sin.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the meeting, said any resolution to the Syrian conflict must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria “including the occupied Golan Heights”. Summit spokesman Mahmoud Al Khmeiry had said before the summit that Arab states would also repeat a call offering peace with Israel in exchange for occupied Arab lands and would reject any initiative not in line with UN resolutions.

Khmeiry appeared to be referring to a still-unannounced US peace plan by White House adviser Jared Kushner and Trump son-in-law that Palestinians have refused to discuss. The Arab Summit addressed a range of topics and issues that concern the Arab nation including the political developments of the Palestinian cause, activating the Arab peace initiatives, the crisis in Syria, developments in Libya and Yemen, as well as discussing the Arab security cooperation, countering terrorism, developing the Arab League among other several Arab economic and social topics. — Agencies</s>Arab leaders meet in Tunisia with eye on Trump's Golan move

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Arab leaders are meeting in Tunisia's capital hoping to project unified opposition to President Donald Trump's recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

The annual Arab League summit is taking place Sunday. The leaders of Algeria, Sudan and Morocco have announced they are skipping the meeting.

Arab League spokesman Mahmoud Afifi says the 22-member bloc will aim to issue a proclamation affirming the international consensus that the Golan is occupied Syrian land.

The annual gathering will also look into readmitting Syria's membership in the Arab League, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Saudi Arabia-Iran rivalry and the war in Yemen.

The pan-Arab bloc froze Syria's membership in 2011 over a bloody government crackdown on protesters.

Many Arab countries have recently renewed ties with the government of President Bashar Assad.</s>Arab leaders papered over long-running regional rivalries on Sunday to condemn a US move to recognise Israel's sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights and said stability in the Middle East hinged on creating a Palestinian state.

Arab leaders, attending a summit in the Tunisian capital, have been grappling with regional splits over Iran's influence in the Middle East, a bitter Gulf Arab dispute, international pressure over the war in Yemen and unrest in Algeria and Sudan.

But they have found a reason to unite against President Donald Trump's decision to sign a proclamation last week recognising the Golan Heights as part of Israel, which annexed the area in 1981 after capturing it from Syria in 1967.

It follows a US move less than four months ago to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a decision that also prompted Arab condemnation. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state in the West Bank and Gaza.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz told Arab monarchs, presidents and prime ministers at the start of the summit that his country “absolutely rejects” any measures that affect Syria's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

His remarks echoed those of senior Arab officials before Sunday's summit of the Arab League, which usually ends with a final declaration agreed by the 22 member states.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said Arab leaders also needed to ensure the international community understood the importance of the Palestinian cause to Arab nations.

Regional and international stability should come through “a just and comprehensive settlement that includes the rights of the Palestinian people and leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Essebsi said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the meeting in Tunis, said any resolution to the Syrian conflict must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria “including the occupied Golan Heights”.

Summit spokesman Mahmoud Al-Khmeiry had said before the summit that Arab states would also repeat a call offering peace with Israel in exchange for occupied Arab lands and would reject any initiative not in line with UN resolutions.

Khmeiry appeared to be referring to a still-unannounced US peace plan by White House adviser Jared Kushner and Trump son-in-law that Palestinians have refused to discuss.

Despite a show of unity in rejecting US initiatives that support Israeli policies, Arab states remain divided over a range of other issues, including pro-democracy protests that have erupted in the region since 2011 and over Iran's Middle East influence.

King Salman, whose country has long vied with Iran for influence, called for confronting what he called the “aggressive policies of the Iranian regime”. He said Iran was interfering in Arab affairs, a charge Tehran has long denied.

The Tunis summit brought together the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the first time at the same gathering since 2017 when Riyadh and its allies imposed a political and economic boycott on Doha. Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and cosying up to Iran, an accusation Doha denies.

In a strange turn of events, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was reported to have left the summit abruptly.

Qatar's state news agency QNA said Sheikh Tamim had departed Tunisia after attending the opening session of the Arab League summit but did not give a reason why he left the meeting.

The leaders of Sudan and Algeria did not attend Sunday's meeting, with both nations roiled by anti-government protests.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria's ailing 82-year-old president who has ruled for 20 years, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, in power for three decades and wanted by international prosecutors for alleged war crimes in his country's Darfur region, are both facing calls to step down.

Syria's seat at the summit was vacant. Damascus has been suspended from the League since 2011 over its crackdown on protesters at the start of its civil war. The League has said no consensus has yet been reached to allow Syria's reinstatement.
During the 30th Arab League summit held in Tunisia, leaders condemn the United States' claim that the Golan Heights belong to Israel, and stated the establishment of a Palestinian state is essential for stability.