Algeria's President promises to prioritise Palestine in Arab Summit, supports Qatar on 'suspicious campaigns'

Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is optimistic about the Arab Summit despite the political disagreements dividing the Arab world, reported Qatar News Agency (QNA).

"This summit will represent a new start to activate and strengthen joint Arab action. (...) Choosing the first of November as the date for the Arab summit was not purely a coincidence, and this choice is based on the sanctity of this day," the Algerian president told QNA.

In the afternoon of  Tuesday, 1 November, Algeria will kick off the first Arab summit in two years - an event that has been trying to bring the Arab world leaders together for more than eight decades.

November 1st also marks the start of the Algerian revolution against French colonisation, which lasted for eight years and lead to the liberation of the North African state after 132 years of colonisation.

The Algerian leader has also stressed that the Palestinian cause will be prioritised during the summit, saying that his country considers unifying the Palestinian ranks "an Algerian duty towards the Palestinian people."

Since January, Algerian authorities have launched several initiatives to mediate a Palestinian national reconciliation, hosting dozens of key political leaders from the different factions to agree on a common goal.

On 13 October, fourteen Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fateh, signed the "Algerian declaration," an agreement and inaugurated a united Palestinian National Council.

Algeria's promise to focus on Palestine during the summit might make the normalisers in the room uncomfortable. However, most of the leaders of countries that normalised ties with Israel shunned attending the summit for "medical" or "political" reasons.

Speaking of the summit's attendees, Tebboune praised "the efforts of the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in unifying the Arab ranks and promoting Arab integration and solidarity," noting that "the attendance of the Emir of Qatar for the Arab summit is a strong catalyst for Arab reunification."

The Qatari Amiri Diwan has announced on its website that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will head the delegation of the State of Qatar to participate in the meetings of the 31st Arab League summit.

Tebboune also voiced support for Qatar’s solid position facing "suspicious campaigns" targeting the fellow Arab country which will host World Cup, the biggest sports event, this month.

"Algeria expresses its permanent and full support to the State of Qatar in the World Cup. (...) The World Cup in Qatar will remain engraved in the history of football," the Algerian president told the Qatari agency.

Since being announced as the host of the World Cup in 2010, Qatar has faced constant scrutiny over its treatment of foreign workers, LGBTQ+ and women's rights, which has cast its shadow on the much-awaited event.

Qatar's ruler said last week that criticism over his country's hosting of the FIFA World Cup was "slander". 

"Initially, we dealt with this subject in good faith, and we even considered that certain criticisms were positive and useful, helping us to develop aspects which should be developed," said Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha last week.

"But it soon became clear to us that the campaign persists, expands, there is slander and double standards, reaching a level of relentlessness that has left many wondering, sadly, on the real reasons and motivations of this campaign," he added.