Arab league meeting (archive)
Arab league meeting (archive)Israel news photo: file

The Arab League concluded its 22nd summit in Libya on Sunday without any changes from its longstanding policies: no to recognizing Israel under any conditions, yes to armed resistance (aka terror) against Israel, no condemnation of genocide in Darfur, yes to Arab Jerusalem, and more. A follow-up meeting will be held in October.

This summit focused on Jerusalem, which the League termed an Arab city. "East Jerusalem is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian lands of 1967. All procedures that are carried out by the Israeli Occupation Authorities is illegal, and does not change the legal status of the city that remains occupied, nor does it impact the political status as the capital of Palestine,” the League stated.

The League called on United States President Barack Obama to continue criticizing the building of homes for Jews in Judea, Samaria, and eastern and northern Jerusalem. Israel must not be allowed to “Judaize” the city, Arab ministers said.

As the summit opened, Arab leaders agreed to give the Palestinian Authority $500 million to “fight Judaization” in Jerusalem and promote its own interests in the city.

Jerusalem has historically been a majority-Jewish city. In 1948, the Jordanian army drove Jews out of historic Jerusalem, including the City of David and the Old City.

Jews returned to the eastern and northern neighborhoods of Jerusalem 19 years later, in 1967, and have remained there since. The land has been annexed to Israel, and is officially part of the nation's capital city. However, the PA claims that the areas temporarily controlled by Jordan rightfully belong to the PA as capital of a future Arab state.

The League determined that if Israel were to give the PA control over all areas controlled by Egypt and Jordan from 1948 to 1967 – Judea, Samaria, Gaza, and much of Jerusalem – the Arab League would support peace. However, the League would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

No to Terrorism – just call it "Resistance"

The Arab League also condemned terrorism, but then redefined the word “terrorism” to exclude attacks intended to “resist occupation.” The change in terminology effectively gives the green light to groups such as Hamas, Fatah, and Hizbullah, which justify their attacks on Israeli civilians by saying that Israel was established on Arab land.

While giving lip service to the war on terrorism, the League also condemned the assassination of arch-terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh of Hamas. Mabhouh was killed in Dubai, in an operation that the world has blamed on Israel.

Support for Libya, Syria, Sudan

League members also agreed to express support for Arab countries under Western pressure. League members backed Sudan, expressing solidarity with the country and rejecting “attempts to violate its sovereignty.”

Sudan has faced widespread criticism for failing to stop an ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of the country, and for allegedly giving support to the perpetrators. Arab militias have slaughtered tens of thousands of non-Arab Muslims in Darfur, and many more have died of starvation.

The League also called for compensation for Libya over losses it sustained due to Western sanctions following the Lockerbie bombing. It supported Syria in its demand that Israel hand over control of the strategic Golan region, which was annexed to Israel following the 1967 Six Day War.