UPDATE - Arab League summit opens in Jordan

*UPDATE WITH JORDANIAN KING REMARKS, MORE DETAILS

By Laith al-Junaidi

DEAD SEA, Jordan (AA) – The annual Arab League summit kicked off on Wednesday in the Dead Sea region in Jordan.

The one-day summit is attended by 18 Arab leaders, while King Mohamed VI of Morocco has failed to show up for unannounced reasons.

The raging conflicts in several Arab countries are expected to figure high on the agenda of the meeting, particularly the situation in Syria, Libya and Yemen, as well as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Addressing the opening session, Jordanian King Abdullah II said solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the key to establishing peace in the Middle East.

"Israel continues to expand settlements and undermine chances for achieving peace," he said.

"There will be no peace or stability without reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue," the monarch said.

The Jordanian leader went on to call for rallying efforts to counter terrorism.

"Terrorism threatens Arabs and Muslims more than anyone else," he said. "Most victims of terrorism are Muslims."

Jordan is hosting the summit after Yemen refused to host it due to the ongoing conflict in the country, which fell into civil war in 2014 after Houthi rebels overran capital Sanaa and other provinces.

The last Arab summit was hosted by Mauritania last year.