Egypt said Thursday it was difficult to imagine a quick return to the peace process following three weeks of Palestinian-Israeli violence.
It is "difficult to imagine a quick return to the peace process," Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said, as his counterparts from 21 Arab League members prepared an emergency Arab summit.
"Something has been broken that must be repaired," Moussa said. "The peace process has been deteriorating for a long time."
The Arab foreign ministers agreed, meanwhile, on a document to be submitted to Arab leaders for approval during the summit on Saturday and Sunday, Moussa added, declining to disclose details.
Arab foreign ministers also approved the principle of holding a summit every year, to be held in March at Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Moussa told the Egyptian news media earlier.
Meanwhile, emergency summits could be held depending on the situation in the region, but that would require two-thirds approval of member states.
The summit will also debate calls for an international commission to investigate the causes of the violence that has cost more than 100 Palestinian lives, as well as support for a trial of Israeli "war criminals," Arab diplomats said.
During an international summit Tuesday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Palestinian and Israeli leaders agreed to a fact-finding committee with US and UN participation.
The committee fell far short of previous demands by the Palestinians, who blamed the violence on the September 28 visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound by Israel's hawkish right-wing Likud opposition party leader Ariel Sharon.
Some Arab states called for full Palestinian sovereignty over east Jerusalem, while others demanded a rupture of all ties with Israel, and still others asked for something short of a break in relations -- CAIRO (AFP)
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