Arab experts will meet in Damascus on Sunday to discuss reviving the Arab boycott of Israel, which slackened after the start of the Middle East peace process in the early 1990s, said reports.
The move comes 10 months into the Palestinians' latest uprising against 34 years of military occupation, sparked by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the Al Aqsa Mosque while a lawmaker.
The official Syrian news agency, SANA, reported that experts at the two-day meeting would focus on a document presented by the Damascus-based Central Office of the
Boycott of Israel, titled Arab Boycott of Israel: Past and Present.
The meeting is being convened at the decision of the Arab League, which supervises the office's activities.
Several attempts by some Arab states, led by Syria, to hold a meeting of the liaison officers have failed during the last few months, diplomats told Reuters.
The boycott office, an offshoot of the Cairo-based Arab League, was established in the 1950s with the aim of isolating Israeli economically.
But implementation of its rules fell apart over the years, especially after Arab-Israeli peace talks opened in Madrid in 1991.
The Palestinians and Jordan signed peace deals with Israel in 1993 and 1994 respectively, while Oman, Morocco, Tunisia and Qatar later opened Israeli commercial and diplomatic centers in their countries and started a political dialogue with Israel.
Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, signing a peace treaty in 1979 – Albawaba.com
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