Palestine tops Arab League agenda at Jordan summit
Palestinian leaders have expressed happiness that their concerns were addressed at the Arab League summit, though the annual meeting has done little to convince the world of Arab resolve on any one issue.
Meeting just a few kilometers from the occupied Palestinian lands on March 29, Arab leaders brought the Palestinian conflict back to the top of their agenda.
The 28th Arab League Summit, held on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea with King Abdullah presiding, set the stage for the upcoming April Washington visits by three Arab leaders.
Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will visit the White House early on April 3, and Abdullah’s visit has been set for April 5. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' visit has yet to be scheduled.
Typically, Arab summits are long on public speeches and short on closed meetings, and this year's summit was no exception. However, with all the internal violence in the Arab world, the presence of 16 Arab leaders at the summit is seen by many as a success and will lend Abdullah as host additional strength in pursuing Arab goals. The 27th Arab Summit held in Mauritania's capital Nowak Shod in July 2016 was attended by only five Arab heads of state.
