MESOP MIDEAST WATCH ANALYSIS : What went down at Arab League summit?

The Arab League paid lip service to the Palestinian plight at its summit in Manama this week, but what tangible commitments did the bloc actually make?  – AL MONITOR 18-5-24

Plus: A symbolic resolution passed by the House of Representatives calling on the US government to unfreeze bomb shipments to Israel puts Biden in yet another political bind and what you should know about the emir of Kuwait’s move to dissolve parliament … for up to four years.

The 33rd Arab League summit held in the Bahraini capital, Manama, wrapped up Thursday, having focused almost exclusively on the war in Gaza, Beatrice Farhat details in her latest report.

What was said: The final communique called for the “immediate” withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza as well as for the “deployment of international protection and peacekeeping forces affiliated with the United Nations” until a viable two-state solution can be implemented. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took aim at Hamas for carrying out the deadly Oct. 7 attack and providing the “pretext” for Israel to launch war in the Gaza Strip.

What wasn’t said: While Arab political heavyweights paid lip service to the Palestinian plight, the group of nations stopped short of committing to financially propping up the shambolic Palestinian Authority. Abbas, for his part, called for the group of nations to  “activate the Arab safety net,” claiming the PA has not received adequate financial backing from the Arab world, particularly as Israel has periodically withheld collected tax payments meant to be doled out to the Ramallah-based government.

In calling for a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed to Gaza that would require backing from the UN Security Council, the Arab League stopped short of agreeing to Western requests to deploy Arab troops to help stabilize the Strip.

Know more: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also attended the summit, the second year in a row that he’s been welcomed back into the Arab fold after being shunned amid the brutal Syrian civil war since 2011.