Arab League summit on hold

Tunisia has postponed an Arab League summit following the outrage over the recent killing of Palestinian leader Sheikh Yassin.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and his foreign minister Brian Cowen were to travel to Monday’s Tunis meeting to push for a new commitment to the Middle East peace process.

Solana’s spokesman, Cristina Gallach, said the EU’s delegation wanted to press Arab leaders to reconfirm an initiative launched in Beirut in 2002 which offered normal ties to Israel if it withdrew from all Arab territories.

Tunis cited deadlock between Arab governments over how to deal with Israel and how to respond to US pressure to push forward democratic reforms.

Israel's missile strike on Sheikh Yassin last Monday sparked a wave of angry protests across the Arab world.

In a statement, the Tunisian foreign ministry also acknowledged "the existence of difference of views" over issues "of great importance to the process of development, modernisation and reform in our Arab countries".

The EU had been looking for a clear statement from Arab nations on how they planned to develop their economies and progress in the field of individual rights.

The EU, which has mooted its own reform plan for the Middle East region, is waiting for signals from within the Arab world on how it wants to foster reform from within.

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