A7NEWS: Arab Support For Summit Meant Talks, Not Actions

Arab Support for Summit Meant Talks, Not Actions
by Hana Levi Julian

The Arab delegates at the Annapolis conference demonstrated the difference between "talking the talk" and "walking the walk" Tuesday when it became obvious that supporting talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority didn't necessarily mean taking any other action to facilitate the process.

Despite the summit's publicity as a show of international support for Israeli-PA negotiations, attempts by Israel to follow up the speeches with concrete action were rebuffed by Arab delegates across the board.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, head of the Israeli negotiating team, was unable to arrange meetings with the 15 Arab representatives at the conference.

The one exception was Jordanian Foreign Minister Salaheddin al-Bashir, whose country already enjoys full diplomatic relations with Israel. Livni was unable to arrange a meeting with the Egyptian delegation, despite Israel's diplomatic ties with her southern Arab neighbor.

Israeli officials interpret this as evidence that the Arab world has not changed its fundamental policy rejecting the existence of the State of Israel, and that relations with other Arab nations are not likely to warm up any time soon.

It would appear that observations by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad more accurately reflected the sentiment of Arab nations who were represented at the conference, which on Wednesday he deemed to be a "failure."

Reiterating his oft-repeated belief that Israel will cease to exist, Ahmadinejad said on Iranian state-run TV, "It is impossible that the Zionist regime will survive... because it has been created on aggression, lying, oppression and crime."

Iran's Arab neighbors were also slammed by Ahmadinejad for attending the conference despite their united refusal to meet with Israeli delegates. "We are disappointed that some individuals fell victim to the sinister Zionist regime," complained Ahmadinejad. "They are mistaken if they thought that this summit would bring any achievements for them."

U.S. President George W. Bush pledged Wednesday that America will defend Israel if it is attacked by Iran, and said that he takes Ahmadinejad's threats seriously. The Iranian president has repeatedly stated that the Jewish State should be "wiped off the map."