Doha: Over nearly 80 years since the establishment of the Arab League, dozens of regular, extraordinary, emergency, and regional Arab summits have been held. Some of these summits were described as ‘historic’ either due to the circumstances of their convening or the decisions and recommendations they issued. The Palestinian cause was the common denominator and the most prominent topic in all of these summits, as it is the first Arab cause that was and still is strongly present in the Arab scene and at the forefront of the nation’s interests and preoccupation.
According to Qatar News Agency, strong Arab support for the Palestinian cause has not been absent throughout the eight decades from the meetings of Arab summits or joint Arab regional summits with the Asian, African, or Islamic surrounding, where the Arab position has been firm in support of the fixed, just and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and constantly defends them in the face of the repeated aggressions of the Israeli occupation.
The year 1946 witnessed the holding of the first Arab Summit at the invitation of King Farouk I of Egypt at the time, held in Inshas, Egypt, during which it was affirmed that the fate of Palestine is a common fate for all Arab countries. After the 1967 war, the historic Khartoum Resolution launched the Three No’s, including no negotiation, no recognition, and no peace with Israel.
In 1973, the Algiers Summit was held with the participation of 16 Arab countries. The Summit announced two conditions for peace with the Israeli entity, namely withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories, particularly Jerusalem, and the restoration of the Palestinian people’s full national rights so that the year 1982 witnessed the Moroccan Fez Summit.
Following the outbreak of the second Palestinian Intifada against the Israeli occupation after Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of the occupation government, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 2000, an emergency summit was held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo and was called Al-Aqsa Summit, in which two funds were established, the first in the name of Al-Quds Uprising Fund with an amount of $200 million, and the second named Al-Aqsa Fund with a capital of $800 million.
The Beirut Summit in 2002, which is considered one of the most prominent Arab summits that addressed solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict, approved the Arab Peace Initiative. The decisions of that summit stipulated the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. This summit also witnessed clear Arab talk about East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, which represents an authentic Palestinian and Arab right.
The Arab countries did not hesitate to defend the historical rights of the Palestinian people by the UN resolutions that represent international legitimacy. In March 2003, the 15th regular Arab summit was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. It affirmed support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people. In May 2004, the Arab leaders met at the 16th regular Arab summit in Tunis, which condemned the ongoing and escalating Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. The summit also affirmed support for Lebanon in confronting the Israeli aggression to complete the liberation of all its lands.