Arab leaders scramble to contain Mideast crisis

Jordan's King Abdullah II(L) welcomes Saad Hariri(R), the leader of the anti-Syrian majority in Lebanon, at the royal palace in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba. Hariri made a surprise stopover in Jordan after visiting Egypt today in order to discuss the flare-up between Israel and Lebanon.(AFP/HO/Yussef Allan)

July 13, 2006

by Jean-Marc Mojon

CAIRO (AFP) -Arab leaders condemned Israel's deadly offensives against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as they scrambled to contain the worst crisis in the Middle East for years.

The massive Israeli onslaught against Lebanon that has killed around four dozen civilians since Wednesday followed the capture of two of its soldiers in attacks by Hezbollah guerrillas.

Israel also continued to pound the Gaza Strip, where another soldier was captured three weeks ago and where 75 Palestinians, including many civilians, have been killed in the past week alone.

As Arab foreign ministers prepared for an emergency meeting on the crisis on Saturday, Arab League secretary general Amr Mussa blamed Israel for the escalation and warned of "chaos" sweeping the region.

"Israel is behind all that is happening," Mussa told reporters. "Leaving matters as they are will lead to big chaos in the region."

Mussa said Arab states would take "unified steps" over one of the most serious regional crises since the second Palestinian intifada erupted in September 2000. Read more...