ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, June 24, 1996 TAG: 9606240104
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CAIRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
NOTE: Lede
Wrapping up their first summit in six years with a rare show of solidarity, Arab leaders warned Sunday that they will ``reconsider the steps taken toward Israel'' in recent years if that country's new government does not totally withdraw from captured Arab lands.
They issued a final communique demanding that Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, adhere to the principle of ``land for peace,'' which they see as the basis for a comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Among other things, the leaders demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Golan Heights; removal of Jewish settlements from those territories; establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital; and Israeli recognition of the ``right of return'' for Palestinian refugees displaced in the Arab-Israeli wars.
Of most concern to Israel, the leaders implicitly threatened to re-evaluate Arab moves toward normal relations with the Jewish state that have accompanied progress in Middle East peace negotiations carried out by Netanyahu's Labor Party predecessors.
``Backtracking on commitments ... or procrastination in implementing them would lead to a setback in the peace process, with all the dangers and repercussions that this implies, taking the region back to the cycle of tension, which would force all the Arab states to reconsider the steps that have been taken toward Israel in the framework of the peace process,'' the document read.
Netanyahu swiftly denounced the summit outcome as an attempt to lay down conditions for further Arab-Israeli negotiations. In a statement from his office and later in remarks to reporters, he did not respond to the Arabs' insistence on adherence to previous agreements signed by the defeated Labor Party government. Instead, he suggested the firm language and demands for return of occupied Arab land are the wrong way to enhance chances for resuming talks and moving on to more agreements.
``The attempt to impose things and dictate preconditions in a way that upsets Israeli security is not appropriate in trying to achieve true peace,'' he said.
Foreign Minister David Levy, taking Israel's criticism a step further, charged the communique contained ``dictates'' issued in a tone ``that could be interpreted as a threat.''
For all the fanfare surrounding the two-day summit - sponsored by Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia - the main thrust of the communique merely restated long-standing Arab demands for the return of Israeli-occupied Arab land. Although the communique contains implicit warnings, Syrian President Hafez Assad, in particular, had sought tougher language that would have threatened Israel with specific moves to tighten its economic and cultural isolation in the region.
Assad also clashed with Jordan's King Hussein, who has accused Syria of involvement in terrorist infiltrations of Jordan and argued successfully for language condemning terrorism in the final communique.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, however, proclaimed the summit ``a major success'' that achieved its goals of bridging differences among Arab nations and sending a strong message of caution to the new Israeli prime minister.
In his campaign platform and recent policy statements, Netanyahu has seemed to rule out territorial concessions to the Arabs while insisting that he wants to continue the U.S.-sponsored peace process that began with a conference in Madrid in 1991.
``We have received the Israeli message,'' Moussa told reporters Sunday afternoon. ``Now there is a message today from the Arabs. ... So let us see. As much as Israel advances, the Arab position will advance.''
Besides the peace process, the Arab leaders dealt with other issues of regional concern, including a new and - they say - potentially destabilizing military pact between Turkey and Israel; accusations that Iran is stirring unrest in the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain; and U.N. sanctions against Libya, which the communique decried as unjust. They also repeated calls for Israel to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and open its nuclear facilities to international inspection.
The Arab countries last held a summit in August 1990, a few days after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. That gathering exposed deep differences within the ``Arab nation,'' as a majority of countries, led by Egypt, joined the West in condemning Iraq's invasion. This weekend's gathering drew 21 of the 22 members of the Arab League; Iraq was not invited.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 linesby CNB