Gaza lost in Arab differences – VP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi said the issue of Gaza was lost in side differences on the Arab arena, referring to a split of Arab countries between “moderates” and “rejectionists”. “Iraq has always been and is still supportive of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights in accordance with international legitimacy and UN resolutions,” Hashimi said on Friday in his speech before the Doha summit in Qatar, dedicated to discussing the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip. He added that the Iraqi government sticks to its unswerving position supporting the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and reaching a solution to the issue of refugees. “Convening this conference here in these critical circumstances is the least that could be done. However, we deem it a vital step to come up with resolutions that would bring an end to the aggression on Gaza,” said the Iraqi vice president. Earlier on Friday, hundreds of Sadrists, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, staged a demonstration in al-Kut, the capital city of Wassit province, to protest the Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip. The Palestinian people are coming under merciless Israeli attacks for 20 days now. The attacks left more than 1,000 people killed and more than 4,000 others wounded, mostly women and children. An extraordinary Arab summit was convened today (Jan. 16) in the Gulf state of Qatar, where Iraq takes part with a delegation led by Hashimi, to tackle the Israeli offensive on Gaza. A delegation representing the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is attending the meeting amidst Arab and Palestinian divisions. The inaugural session was attended by leaders and ministers from 12 Arab countries while chairs of Arab countries that did not attend the summit, including that of Palestine, remained vacant. AmR (S) 1