It is the way things work in the normal course of Arab political affairs. But today’s world is not a normal environment and calls for our leaders to truly think out of the box. That’s exactly why many hoped that the Arab leaders would try and find a common position on the Gaza conflict, in the two-day Arab Economic Summit which concluded in Kuwait on 20 January 09.
While the many challenges facing the Summit were aftermath of the global financial meltdown in GCC, the world food shortage, continuing reduction in oil prices and the Gaza crisis, It was only logical and natural that Gaza was at the heart of the Kuwait summit, despite the cease-fire.
But the Summit only ended amid more discord. Attempts to find a common position on the conflict in Gaza and towards Israel seemingly failed, leaving rival Arab camps as divided as ever.
However, all was not lost as the leaders did agree to a plan to rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip, promising a total of $2 billion to reconstruct what was damaged in the 21-day conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. Hence optimism continues in the region about the long-term prospects for peace !
