Arab leaders meeting at the 22nd Arab summit in the Libyan Mediterranean city of Sirte, today will approve $500 million for Jerusalem Palestinians in a bid to counter Israel's settlement drive. Arab foreign ministers already approved a decision to this effect on Thursday. Their decision will be submitted to Arab leaders for final ratification today. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki said that under the current political situation there was a need for concrete steps to tackle Israel's obstinacy and rebellion against the international community. Malki said that it was high time to take effective measures to rescue Palestinians from the brutal Israeli occupation and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Malki also called for a just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees based on the Arab Peace initiative. The Palestinian Authority had asked for $500 million in Arab aid to help Jerusalem Palestinians. A senior Palestinian official said the money would go towards improving infrastructure in mostly Arab East Jerusalem. Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League, said that Arab leaders are striving to come up with decisions which will support Arab joint work and take a unified stand against Israeli aggression. The weekend summit is set to be dominated by the Mideast peace process after Israel infuriated Palestinian and Arab leaders by announcing earlier this month plans to build 1,600 new homes for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem. Sources said that the summit's final communiqué includes an Arab plan to support Al-Quds besides taking all the necessary measures to confront the Israeli occupation and the polices of Judaizing Al-Quds. Libyan authorities have allocated three airports to receive the leaders. However, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will not personally receive any of them. It has been confirmed that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will not attend the summit as he is undergoing medical treatment in Germany. Egypt has announced a high-level delegation headed by Prime Minister Ahmad Nazeef for the summit. Morocco's king will not be attending the summit especially with the Algerian president attending. Lebanon's president, Kuwait's Emir, Oman's sultan sand the king of Bahrain will not be attending the summit. United Arab Emirate's President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Aal Nuhayyan will not attend the summit and will delegate Um Al-Guwain Governor Sheikh Saud Bin Rashed Al-Mualla. President of Djibouti Ismael Omar Jila is also not scheduled to attend the meeting. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will attend the weekend summit of the Arab League in Libya, a government official confirmed Friday. He will be the only Western head of state or government at the summit. The two-day summit will also discuss the decision made by the International Criminal Court for indicting the Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir besides ways of supporting the peace and development in Sudan and denuclearization of the region.
