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Fri, Oct 08, 2010 | Jerusalem Post

Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa speaks to the press following a meeting with Arab and African foreign ministers in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte. (photo: AFP/Mahmud Turkia)

Arab League Summit Supports Abbas’s Decision To Halt Talks With Israel

Foreign ministers meeting in Libya back PA president’s decision to stop negotiations as long as Israeli building in settlements continues; express hope the US will continue to pressure Israel to renew freeze.

The Arab League announced on Friday that it supports Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to stop peace talks with Israel following Israel’s refusal to halt building in West Bank settlements, Reuters reported.

The Arab League was meeting in Libya to discuss the peace talks which began early in September but have stalled following Israel’s decision not to extend a moratorium on settlement building which ended after 10 months on September 26. League representatives added that they are hopeful the US will continue to pressure Israel to agree to a renewal of the construction freeze. [Read more, JPost; Oct 08, 2010]

Libyan Foreign Minister, Mousa Kousa, said that Arab countries support the legitimate Palestinian rights of statehood and independence, and the refugees’ Right of Return. He also added that the summit also included talks on Arab-African cooperation and the means to counter the challenges in the Middle East, including keeping the region a nuclear free zone.

The final statement of the summit expressed hopes that the United States will continue its pressure on Israel to halt its settlement activities and also expressed direct Arab and African support to the struggle of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation, including their right to an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Arab leaders will now start finding alternatives to the peace process.