DOHA, Jan 16: Arab and other Muslim leaders meeting on Friday in Qatar accused Israel of “crimes of war and genocide” in Gaza, where the Jewish state has conducted a three-week onslaught against rulers Hamas.

Proposals adopted in Doha call for “an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces and suspension of the Arab peace initiative,” while accusing Israel of “committing crimes of war and genocide,” the final statement said.The proposals will be presented to Arab leaders in Kuwait on Monday at an official Arab League summit.

Other demands mentioned in the statement were “the opening of all border crossings, lifting of the blockade, and holding Israel responsible for paying compensation.”

“We request that this crime stops,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani said at the press conference that followed the meeting.

Hamas’s exiled leader Khaled Meshaal told the meeting that it would not accept any ceasefire that did not provide for a full Israeli pullout and the opening of Gaza’s borders, including the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

“I assure you: despite all the destruction in Gaza, we will not accept Israel’s conditions for a ceasefire,” he said.

Also in Doha, Qatar and Mauritania announced the suspension of the relations with Israel.

The move followed appeals by both the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad for Arab states to sever any ties they had with Israel.

Mauritania has diplomatic ties with Israel, while Qatar is the only Gulf Arab country with commercial relations with the Jewish state.

Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab countries which have signed peace treaties with Israel and which have Israeli embassies.

Ahmadinejad called for the prosecution of Israeli leaders by the International Court of Justice for “crimes” against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

He urged “punishing the criminal leaders of the Zionist entity,” for the 21-day-old Israeli offensive on Gaza, which so far has killed more than 1,100 and wounded another 5,000.

The Arab peace initiative, adopted in 2002 and again in 2007, offers Israel peace if it retreats from all territories it has occupied since 1967.

The Doha meeting was attended by 13 of the Arab League’s 22 members plus hardline Mr Ahmadinejad. Turkey also took part, with Ankara sending an aide to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The gathering went ahead despite the objections of the Palestinian leadership and regional heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia and the lack of a quorum of 15 members to make the summit an official meeting of the Arab League.

Meanwhile, Arab foreign ministers met in Kuwait on Friday and adopted a proposal that called for an immediate halt of “Israeli aggressions,” and lifting the blockade.

It also appealed for “a commitment to rebuild the Gaza Strip and Palestinian territories and provide all the necessary finances, which are estimated at two billion dollars, in coordination with the Palestinian Authority.”

The proposals adopted in Kuwait will also be presented to the Arab leaders meeting on Monday.

The double meetings highlight the divisions between Arab countries, with some backing the Islamist movement Hamas and some backing the Palestinian leadership headed by President Mahmud Abbas.

The Qatari prime minister said he had talked with the Palestinian president before the summit, but Mr Abbas said he couldn’t attend the Qatari summit because of “pressures”.

“Abu Mazen told me, I cannot attend, because I am under pressures,” the Qatari prime minister told reporters at the meeting.--AFP