Arab summit in Tunisia important for Palestinian cause: official

A senior official of the Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Wednesday that holding the Arab League (AL) summit in Tunisia at the end of March is important amid the current situation.

Riyad al-Maliki, the PA minister of Foreign Affairs, said he will soon depart to Tunisia to join the meeting of the Arab foreign ministers to prepare for the AL summit which will be held in Tunisia at the end of March.

He said in a press statement that the Palestinian cause will be presented on the agenda of the Arab foreign ministers' meeting and the AL summit.

"The Palestinian side will discuss with the Arab leaders the endless Israeli assaults in the Gaza Strip, the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and the measures in Jerusalem and against al-Aqsa Mosque," he said.

He said that the Palestinian side will put the question of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on the agenda.

"The state of Palestine will clearly demand from the Arab countries to make a clear decision toward the countries who are moving their embassies to Jerusalem or open diplomatic or commercial offices in the city," he said.

Speaking about the new U.S. peace plan which intends to be published soon, he said that "we will ask from the Arab foreign ministers a clear position to deal."

It is important for the Arab leaders to stick to the implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative that was formed by the AL summit in Beirut in 2002, he added.