Eleventh Arab Summit: Final Communiqué

Eleventh Arab Summit

Final Communiqué

(Excerpts)

Amman, 25-27 November 1980

The Arab leaders affirmed their commitment to the resolutions of the Baghdad and Tunis summits, and especially the resolutions on the Palestine cause as being the core of the Arab conflict with the Israeli enemy. They also stressed that their national responsibility obliges all Arabs to work and struggle to resist the Zionist danger which threatens the existence of this nation.

The Conference also stressed that the liberation of Arab Jerusalem is a national duty and obligation, declared its rejection of all the measures taken by Israel and called on all the Arab countries to adopt unambiguous and clearly defined positions of resistance to these Israeli measures. It decided to sever all relations with any state that recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or transfers its embassy to Jerusalem.

The Arab leaders affirmed their deter­mination to continue to support the PLO as being the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, with a view to the recovery of all the rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination and to establish their independent state in their land. They also affirmed their support for its independence and freedom of will. The Conference saluted the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the occupied territory, their heroic sacrifices and their valiant resistance to Israeli occupation which is providing the whole world with one proof after another of the steadfastness of this people and their determination to recover their rights.

The Conference affirmed the right of the Palestinian people, as represented by the PLO, their sole legitimate representative, to return to their land, to self-determination and to establish an independent Palestinian state on the soil of their homeland, stressing that the PLO alone has the right to exercise responsibility with regard to the future of the Palestinian people.

The Conference also stressed that Security Council resolution 242 is not consistent with Arab rights and does not constitute a sound basis for the solution of the Middle East crisis and in particular the Palestine question.

The Arab leaders reaffirmed their rejection of the Camp David accords which led the Egyptian leadership into the snare of conspiring against the Arab nation and the cause on which their destiny depends. Aimed at fragmenting the Arabs' unity and solidarity, these accords led to the Egyptian regime's withdrawing from Arab ranks, negotiating with the Israeli enemy and signing a separate peace treaty with it, thereby defying the will of the Egyptian people and disregarding their pan-Arab role and Arab affiliation.

They affirmed their determination to confront and foil these accords and eliminate their consequences, and to support the measures taken to boycott the Egyptian regime, in conformity with the resolutions of the Baghdad and Tunis summit conferences.

The Conference greeted and affirmed its solidarity with the Egyptian people, who are an important part of the Arab nation and whose struggle is inseparable from that of the rest of the Arab nation, and expressed the hope that they may succeed in surmounting the circumstances that have distanced them from their brothers, and return to constructive fraternal participation in the future of the Arab nation.

The Conference studied with the greatest concern the current conflict between Iraq and Iran.

In the light of the principles of Arab solidarity and with a view to maintaining fraternal relations between the Arab and Islamic countries and to mobilizing their resources in support of the just struggle of the Arab nation against the Zionist enemy, the Conference:

Calls on the two parties to impose an immediate cease-fire and to solve the dispute by peaceful means. The Conference supports Iraq's legitimate rights to its land and waters in conformity with the international agreements concluded between the two countries. The Conference welcomes Iraq's response to the calls of the Islamic Conference, the UN and the non-aligned countries for a cease-fire and to the good offices of parties that are seeking to secure a solution through negotiation. The Conference calls on Iran to respond to such moves.

The Conference calls on both sides to adhere to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs and respect for each other's rights and sovereignty and to establish good neighbourly relations with each other, which principles should constitute the basis of the relations between the Arab countries and Iran.

The Conference expressed its total condemnation of the continuing Israeli aggression against Lebanon which is a challenge to the dignity of the international community. It expressed its absolute solidarity with the Lebanese people and called on all parties in Lebanon to support the legitimate authority of the state with a view to maintaining Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Conference also reaffirmed the resolutions on the reconstruction of Lebanon adopted by the tenth summit conference in Tunis.

The Conference reviewed Arab relations with the various countries of the world and stressed the importance of strengthening links and relations with the Islamic countries and with the Islamic Conference Organization, of consolidating the role of the Non-aligned Movement and of cooperation with the countries affiliated to it and with the countries of Latin America. It also stressed the need to reinforce solidarity with the Organization of African Unity and the countries of the African continent, to consolidate Arab-African cooperation and to strengthen links and relations with a view to serving Arab-African interests and sup­porting the just struggle of the peoples of the African continent against racial discrimination and interference.

The Conference affirmed the determination of the Arab countries to support the Euro-Arab Dialogue with a view to serving common interests and securing greater understanding of the justice of the Arabs' demands, especially as regards the Palestine cause.

The Conference decided to continue to take action within the framework of the UN and its specialized agencies and of the institutions of the conferences of international organizations, with a view to coordinating Arab positions and achieving co-operation in accordance with the goals and principles of the programme of Joint Arab Action and the policies decided on by the institutions of the Arab League.

The Conference stressed the need for continued contacts with the Vatican and with Christian authorities and institutions to ensure their support for the restoration of full Arab sovereignty over Jerusalem.

It also stressed the need for action to ensure the continued support of the socialist countries for Arab rights and to strengthen co-operation with them, with a view to serving common interests and increasing and developing these countries’ support for Arab rights in such a way as to increase the Arabs' capacity for steadfastness.

The Conference condemned the US government's continued political, military and economic support for Israel which enables it to entrench its occupation, to deny the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, to disregard international resolutions and to continue the pursuit of its policy of obduracy, expansion and aggression. The Conference also condemned the United States of America's hostile attitude to the PLO, its denial of the PLO's right to represent the Palestinian people and its description of the PLO as a terrorist organization.

The Arab leaders expressed their extreme concern at the continuing disagreement and division in Arab ranks in circumstances that demand a serious and resolute stand to achieve consensus and mobilize resources for the confrontation of the challenges that face the Arab nation. They call for the settlement of any differences that arise in the Arab arena in a spirit of national consciousness, true affiliation and faith in the unity of Arab aims and destiny, and within the framework of the Arab Solidarity Pact agreed to at the 1965 Casablanca summit conference.

Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. x, no 2, Winter 1981.