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Tunisia Summit: US Move on Golan Discussed in Syria’s Absence

Security forces stand guard outside the conference center where Arab leaders will hold the 30th Arab League Summit which opens Sunday, in Tunis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Security forces stand guard outside the conference center where Arab leaders will hold the 30th Arab League Summit which opens Sunday, in Tunis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Tunisia Summit: US Move on Golan Discussed in Syria’s Absence

Security forces stand guard outside the conference center where Arab leaders will hold the 30th Arab League Summit which opens Sunday, in Tunis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Security forces stand guard outside the conference center where Arab leaders will hold the 30th Arab League Summit which opens Sunday, in Tunis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The 30th Arab League Summit in Tunisia will focus on consolidating unity and avoiding disputing among Arab states, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.

The sources asserted that the Palestinian cause, fostering of the Arab Peace Initiative and defending the identity of Jerusalem would top the agenda of the summit that is scheduled to be held in the Tunisian capital on Sunday.

The summit would also highlight the Syrian war, the situation in Libya, Yemen and Sudan, in addition to needed consensus on Turkey’s violation of Iraqi sovereignty and Iranian interference in Arab affairs.

According to the same sources, the summit would also discuss settling 75 percent of Iraq’s debt and another clause on Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people in Arab states.

The recent US decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty on the Golan Heights was highly present during Friday’s preparatory meetings of Arab foreign ministers.

The US move came as Syria, whose Arab League membership was suspended at the start of its eight-year civil war, remains absent from the summit.

At the meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Friday, the Tunisian and Saudi FMs respectively Khemaies Jhinaoui and Ibrahim al-Assaf condemned the US decision on the Golan.

Assaf said the Kingdom is working to unify the position of the Syrian opposition before sitting at the negotiating table with the regime, to reach a political solution that guarantees security and stability, in the war-torn country.

He also slammed the Iranian threat as the main challenge facing Arabs, calling for action to confront Tehran.

"One of the most dangerous forms of terrorism and extremism is what Iran practises through its blatant interference in Arab affairs, and its militias ... the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, which requires cooperation from us to confront it," he said.

For his part, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that Arab foreign ministers decided to task the General Secretariat with preparing a plan that deals with the US decision.

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Arab World

Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
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Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)

Baghdad has been preoccupied this week with serious possibilities that Israel may expand its war on Gaza and Lebanon by striking several targets in Iraq in retaliation to attacks by Iran-backed armed factions.

Concern has been high that Israel may attack government buildings, oil fields and strategic locations, not just the positions of the armed factions that have previously launched attacks against Israel, said sources close to the pro-Iran ruling Coordination Framework.

Media sources have spoken of government speculation that Iraq could come under “300 Israeli attacks”.

The fears in Iraq have been compounded by an Israeli complaint to the United Nations Security Council against seven armed factions and holding Baghdad responsible for the attacks they have carried out against it.

This prompted the government, through the foreign ministry, to send an official letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation in response to the Israeli threats.

The ministry said on Saturday that Iraq is “the cornerstone of stability in the region and world and it is one of the countries that are most committed to the UN Charter.”

“The Zionist entity’s letter to the Security Council is part of a systematic policy aimed at creating claims and excuses in an attempt to expand the conflict in the region.”

It said Iraq has turned to the Security Council out of Iraq’s keenness on the international body carrying out its duty in maintaining international peace and security and the need to rein in the “Zionist aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.”

Moreover, it stressed that Iraq has been keen on exercising restraint when it comes to the use of its airspace to attack a neighboring country.

Israel has used Iraqi airspace to launch attacks against Iran in October.

Iraq underscored the importance of the international community stepping in to “stop this hostile behavior that is a flagrant violation of international law.”

It called for international efforts to stop the Israeli escalation in the region and ensure that international laws and treaties are respected to consolidate security and stability.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Coordination Framework said the main Shiite parties are taking the Israeli threats “very seriously”, urging Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's government to take “all the necessary measures to avert a potential Israeli strike.”

All leaders of armed factions, as well as Shiite leaders, have taken up alternative locations and are moving under great secrecy, confirming that they have changed the majority of their military positions, said the source.

It also dismissed claims that Israeli jets have overflown Iraq, saying nothing has been confirmed, but not ruling out the possibility, especially since US forces have control over Iraqi skies and Iraq is helpless against stopping these violations.

Iraq had submitted a formal complaint to the UN and Security Council over Israel’s use and violation of its airspace to attack Iran.

Analyst and former diplomat Ghazi Faisal said the pro-Iran armed factions have been gathering their forces in the Sinjar province, which is strategic for Iran’s arms deliveries and logistic support to Syria where attacks can be carried out against American forces and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Sinjar is one of the most important strategic bases for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, he added.

Furthermore, he noted that the armed factions insist on continuing the war against Israel, rejecting government calls for calm and neutrality.

The government’s statements are aimed at delivering a message that it “is not directly responsible for the strategy of these factions,” which follow Iran’s policies.

Iraq has repeatedly said that it refuses for its territory to be used to attack another country, but some observers believe that it may allow Iran to do so should Israel strike.