Arab foreign ministers started an extraordinary meeting here on Sunday morning to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations as well as the Lebanese crisis.
The Arab foreign ministerial meeting held here at the headquarters of the Arab League was initiated at the request of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the current Arab summit chairman.
The Arab foreign ministers' meeting is to discuss the Israeli settlement policy which is threatening to undermine the Palestinian-Israeli talks reactivated following the Annapolis conference on Mideast peace held late November, 2007, in the United States.
The Palestinian delegation is expected to submit a report on negotiations with Israel, Israeli settlement policies and incessant raids in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians and Israel held two rounds of peace talks in last December as a result of the Annapolis conference but failed to yield any tangible progress.
On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas termed the issue of settlements as main obstacle for negotiation that came up after the Annapolis conference, noting that the Palestinian-Israeli talks could not continue with settlement activities going on.
On the Lebanese issue, Arab foreign ministers called for a swift consensus on Lebanese presidential election to choose army chief General Michel Suleiman as president after a consultative meeting on Saturday evening.
The Arab diplomats agreed on an overall plan to solve the Lebanese crisis, calling on all parties in Lebanon to reach an immediate agreement on forming a national unity government in line with the constitution.
Source:Xinhua
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