UPDATE - Arab summit opens in Tunisia

UPDATE WITH FURTHER DETAILS

By Adel al-Thabeti

TUNIS (AA) – Arab leaders opened their annual summit in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, on Sunday.

Addressing the opening session, Saudi King Salman said his country rejects a U.S. decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

"We reaffirm our unequivocal rejection of infringing the Syrian sovereignty over Golan Heights," he said.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation officially recognizing the area, which was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war, as an Israeli territory.

On the Syrian crisis, the Saudi monarch underlined the need to reach a political solution that "guarantees the sovereignty of Syria and the prevention of any foreign intervention, in accordance with international resolutions."

As for the situation in the Palestinian territories, he said the Palestinian issue would remain a top priority for the kingdom "until the Palestinian people regain their legitimate rights".

He also touched on the Yemeni crisis, reiterating Riyadh's support for UN efforts aimed at reaching a political solution to the five-year conflict.

"We call on the international community to exert pressure on the Iran-backed Houthi militias to stop their aggressive attacks that aggravate the suffering of the Yemeni people," he said.

"The aggressive policies of the Iranian regime are flagrant violations of all international conventions and norms, and the international community should do more pressure to prevent Iranian support for terrorism in the world," he added.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, for his part, said terrorism amounts to be "the biggest threats to security and development in the world.”

"It is unacceptable for the Arab region to continue to be hard-hit by tension and terrorism," he said. "It is also unacceptable…to turn our region into scenes for regional and international conflicts."

Essebsi affirmed that "Golan Heights is an occupied Arab land and this is recognized by the international community".

Only 13 Arab leaders are attending the one-day summit, including Qatar's emir Tamim bin Hamad and Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

Other attending leaders include Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad of Kuwait and King Abdullah II of Jordan as well as the leaders of Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Mauritania and Djibouti.

Libya is also represented by the head of the country's presidential council Fayez al-Sarraj.

Meanwhile, eight leaders are absent from the summit; most notably Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Algeria's Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said and Moroccan King Mohammed VI.

War-torn Syria is not represented by any official at the summit as the country's Arab League membership has been frozen since 2011.

The summit’s agenda is expected to tackle recent Israeli escalations against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip; ongoing crises in Libya, Yemen and Sudan; alleged Iranian interference in Arab affairs; and the fight against terrorism.