By Xinhua
Cairo : Arab foreign ministers on Sunday reiterated their support for an Arab initiative to resolve the current Lebanese political crisis, and urged Israel to lift the blockade on the Palestinian territory of Gaza Strip.
In a statement issued after an emergency meeting at the Arab League (AL) headquarters in Cairo, Arab foreign ministers stressed their consensus on abiding by the Arab initiative and continuing efforts to implement the Arab plan to resolve the Lebanese political crisis.
The Arab top diplomats at the meeting lauded the efforts made by AL Secretary General Amr Moussa, urging all Lebanese parties to respond to Moussa’s mediation.
During the meeting, the AL Council reviewed Moussa’s report on his recent visits to Lebanon, listened to his assessment on the outcome of his task as well as his recommendations to continue Arab efforts to implement the initiative plan adopted by Arab foreign ministers earlier this month.
In addition, the council voiced its extreme concern over Lebanon’s ongoing crisis and its grave consequences on Lebanon’s stability and security.
It also called for continued meetings that had been started between all Lebanese groups, initiated by Moussa to implement the plan.
Moussa said Syria was supporting his efforts to implement the Arab initiative and keen on reaching a settlement of the Lebanese political stand-off.
Moussa said Syria agrees with the interpretation that the initiative proposes 13 government seats for the majority, 10 for the opposition and 7 for the new president, asserting that Syria still favors a 10-10-10 formula.
After the approval of the Arab plan on Jan. 5, Moussa has paid three visits this month to Lebanon, holding marathon talks with Lebanese leaders to promote the initiative.
The three-point plan aimed at immediately electing Lebanese Army Commander General Michel Suleiman as Lebanese president, proceeding to forming a national unity government and drafting a new electoral law.
The Arab ministers urged all sides in the dispute to vote for Suleiman in a new parliamentary session on Feb. 11.
Lebanese presidential seat has been vacant since former President Emile Lahoud ended his term on Nov. 24, 2007, and the Lebanese parliament has postponed a parliamentary session to elect a new president for a 13th time.
On the Palestinian issue, Arab foreign ministers called on Israel to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
Arab top diplomats said in a statement that Israel should be responsible for the deteriorating situation in Gaza.
Israel should immediately stop the blockade of Gaza to allow the Palestinians to get their basic necessities, the statement said.
The Arab ministers praised Egypt’s efforts to help the Palestinians relieve their sufferings, and reiterated their supports for Cairo’s efforts to help all Palestinians for their early return to their homes in Gaza.
They also called on all parties concerned to resume agreed arrangements on the operation of all Gaza Strip crossings, including the Rafah terminal on the Egyptian-Gaza border.
However, Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement said Sunday it rejects returning to a 2005 international agreement on running the Rafah crossing on Gaza-Egypt border.
The U.S.-brokered deal allows the Rafah terminal to run with Palestinian Presidential Guard controlling the Palestinian side of the crossing while European Union (EU) monitors act as a third party. The agreement was reached in November 2005, two months after Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been seeking help from Egypt and Israel to take over Gaza’s border crossings, including the Rafah crossing which was blasted open on Wednesday.
Israel ordered the shut-down of all Gaza crossings in the wake of Hamas violent takeover of Gaza in June 2007 and further tightened the siege recently in retaliation to ongoing makeshift rocket attacks carried out by Palestinian militants from Gaza against Israel.
As the hope to lift Gaza siege faded, Palestinian militants blew up holes in the concrete wall that separates southern Gaza and Egypt on early Wednesday, enabling tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza poured into Egypt for daily necessities.
The Gaza-Egypt border remained open for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday as Egyptian security forces are girding up to take actions to close the border.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Abbas duringtheir meeting on Sunday that Israel would resume the flow of humanitarian aid and fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip.
Earlier in the day, Israel announced that it would resume fuel shipments to Gaza, but threatened to consider limiting the supplies again if rocket fire continues.