Doha Summit Opens in Presence of Sudan’s Beshir

Arab leaders opened their annual summit in Qatar on Monday where they are expected to discuss a range of thorny issues, including Arab and Palestinian reconciliation, the Palestinian cause and how best to deal with the next ‘Israeli' government led by Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu.

Seventeen heads of state from the 22-member Arab League and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki were present for the opening address by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of the two-day gathering. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who also arrived in the Qatari capital on Sunday, is attending the summit

Arab League members will also confront the situation in Sudan and the international arrest warrant issued earlier this month for President Omar al-Beshir on alleged charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Arab leaders meet in the presence of Omar al-Beshir, defying an arrest warrant issued against him, but hopes of healing Arab rifts dimmed when Egypt's Hosni Mubarak decided to stay at home.

According to a draft statement, the Arab leaders are expected to adopt a Saudi-sponsored resolution urging "dialogue and consultation in solving Arab differences." It also calls for avoiding "fiery and escalatory language... and rejecting ruptures in relations and disputes," while urging "action to develop a common Arab strategy to confront political, security and economic challenges."

The Arab states had hoped to close ranks split largely over how to respond to Israel's 22-day onslaught against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, urged foreign ministers meeting ahead of the summit to strive towards creating a unified front, beyond making a show of solidarity with Sudan. "We have to live up to our responsibilities and work towards closing ranks," he said.

But President Mubarak of Egypt, whose country is the largest Arab nation in terms of population and is a major regional powerhouse, has decided to shun the summit. Mubarak is believed to view Doha as taking an anti-Cairo stand during the Gaza war.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia began mending fences with Syria, with King Abdullah meeting Mubarak and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Riyadh on March 11, two months after another ice-breaking mini-summit in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Al-Beshir was greeted on a red carpet at the international airport in Doha, the Qatari capital, by Al- Thani, on Sunday before the pair had coffee with Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League.

Al-Beshir's attendance emphasized the broad Arab support he enjoys.

Arab foreign ministers approved a draft declaration on Saturday urging the International Criminal Court to annul all its measures against Beshir and calling upon all Arab states to reject the ICC ruling.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on Sunday lambasted the ICC, saying it represented a "new form of world terrorism" that wanted to recolonize developing countries. "It is not fair that a head of state should be arrested," he said in Addis Ababa before flying to Doha. "If we allow such a thing... we should also try those who killed hundreds and millions of children in Iraq and in Gaza."