Saudi, Egypt reject Qatari calls for emergency meet

Saudi, Egypt reject Qatari calls for emergency meet

Arab states seek solution to end Gaza blitz

Kuwait summit Turkish PM says his in not anti-Semitic

Turkish PM says his criticism of Israel does not mean he is anti-Semitic

DUBAI (AlArabiya.net, Agencies)

Arab leaders attempted to find a solution Tuesday to bring to an end Israel's 18-day blitz on the Gaza Strip as Qatar called for an emergency summit, Egypt's president headed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait MPs urged the government to ban Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas from attending an upcoming economic meet.

Qatar requested an emergency Arab League summit to discuss the situation in Gaza but no other countries have so far agreed, Arab League spokesman Abdel-Alim al-Abiyad said.

Saudi Arabia said another meet in Qatar would be "inappropriate" and stressed that leaders should focus on the Arab summit to be held in Kuwait on Jan. 19. Doha, the only Gulf Arab country that has ties with Israel, had called for an emergency Arab summit to be held the same day. "We do not see it as appropriate to hold another summit," Ahmad al-Qattan, Saudi's permanent representative at the Cairo-based Arab League, Al Arabiya TV. Egypt, whose president Hosni Mubarak travelled to Saudi to meet with King Abdullah, also rejected the Qatari proposal. Egyptian officials say Qatari and Syrian requests for a summit seek to embarrass Cairo, a reference to Egypt's attempts to broker a peace deal.

Kuwait summit " European nations must intensify their efforts to exert pressure on Israel to stop its aggression immediately, lift the blockade on the Palestinian people and open all Gaza crossing points " Syrian President Assad Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Arab foreign ministers will hold emergency talks in Kuwait to discuss "the continuation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza". Meanwhile, a group of 21 Kuwaiti MPs said that Abbas was "not welcome" at the economic summit in Kuwait City because of his "negative and weak stances over the Zionist onslaught on the Palestinian people besieged in Gaza," the deputies said in a statement. The deputies in the 50-member group urged the government to declare his visit as "unwanted." In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad urged Europe to pressure Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza, during a meeting with Spain's foreign minister. "European nations must intensify their efforts to exert pressure on Israel to stop its aggression immediately, lift the blockade on the Palestinian people and open all Gaza crossing points," Assad told Miguel Angel Moratinos, the Sana news agency said. Israel's assault on Gaza has killed more than 900 Palestinians and wounded more than 4,200. Thirteen Israelis have been killed by rocket fired by Hamas forces since the assault began on Dec. 27.

Turkish PM says his in not anti-Semitic " There are people who are disturbed by me speaking of my discomfort over the killing of civilians, (including) children...If we do not state what is just and lawful, then we will lose our self-respect. ..I am (also) a leader who has said that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity " Turkish PM Meanwhile, Turkey's prime minister stood by his criticism of Israel's Gaza assault and said it did not mean he was anti-Semitic just because he accused "Jewish-backed media" of publishing biased stories on the blitz. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan shocked Israel by describing its military bombardment as "a crime against humanity". "There are people who are disturbed by me speaking of my discomfort over the killing of civilians, (including) children...If we do not state what is just and lawful, then we will lose our self-respect, " he said. "I am (also) a leader who has said that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity," he said in a speech to his ruling AK Party in parliament broadcast live on television. Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but secular country with good ties with Israel and Arab countries, has been trying to help broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Erdogan's statements are sure to anger Israel but are unlikely to hurt strategic ties between the two countries. Erdogan faces a public in Turkey that is increasingly vocal against the events in Gaza as hundreds of thousands have protested in Turkey.