Arab ministerial meeting under consideration in support of Lebanon: Saudi FM

A senior Saudi Arabia official revealed Wednesday that the Arab world is considering the possibility of holding a ministerial meeting in Beirut as soon as possible to support Lebanon under escalating Israeli offensives.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal made the remarks to reporters in the country's Red Sea city of Jeddah.

"There are ongoing discussions among Arab countries to hold a ministerial meeting for the Arab League in Lebanon at the nearest time possible," Faisal told the reporters.

The meeting was proposed to be held with purposes to voice full Arab support to the Lebanese people by saying that "all Arab countries stand by Lebanon", he said, without giving further details.

The consideration of the ministerial meeting came after Arab leaders failed to hold an extraordinary summit over Israel's offensive in Lebanon.

On July 18, the Arab League representatives met in Cairo headquarters on the possibility of holding the summit meeting, but failed to reach any agreement.

However, an Israeli raid in southern Lebanese village of Qana Sunday, which killed some 54 Lebanese, most of them children, sparked world outrage, especially in the Arab world.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa headed to Jordan on Wednesday for talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II over the Arab reaction to the refusal of a ceasefire in Lebanon by some world powers, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

After Jordan, Moussa will probably start a regional tour on Saturday to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria, added MENA.

The expected tour came as part of ongoing consultations to create a unified Arab stance on the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, which entered its 22nd day despite the mounting call for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, Abdul Ilah al-Khatib and Ahmed Abul Gheit, also arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday to show the countries' support for Beirut.

Violence between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah erupted on July 12 after Hezbollah guerillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight during cross-border attacks.

Israel has waged a 22-day-old massive assault in Lebanon and expanded its ground operations while Hezbollah has showered Israel with rockets.

Some 600-700 Lebanese and more than 50 Israelis have been killed during the 22-day-long conflict between the two sides, according to media reports.

Source: Xinhua