Divisions reign supreme on first day of 'reunion' Arab Summit in Algeria

Regional tensions and crises underpinned the first day of the Arab summit, as Algeria, the host country, attempts to unite the twenty-two members of the league under the summit's slogan, "reunion."

"The regional and international contexts (are) marked by rising tensions and crises, particularly in the Arab world, which in its modern history hasn't seen a period as difficult as the one it is currently undergoing," Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Algeria's president, said at the meeting's inaugural session.

Tensions were visible on the first day of the Arab states' "reunion" amid the absence of high-profile Arab leaders.

The rulers of Morocco, Oman, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain chose to skip this Arab bounding event.

Reasons remain unknown, but experts hint at Algeria's commitment to supporting the Palestinian cause and condemning the Abraham accords with Israel - a normalisation deal that many absentees have joined or were rumoured to consider joining soon.

However, Tebboune did not directly mention the normalisation deals yesterday.

Though he insisted that a 2002 Arab initiative proposing peace in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from land it occupied during the 1967 war was the only way to reach "a just and comprehensive peace".

Addressing leaders including United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Tebboune called for a UN General Assembly session to give full membership to the state of Palestine.

"Our central and primary cause remains the Palestinian cause," added the Algerian leader.

Last month, Palestinian factions signed under Algeria's auspices an agreement that seeks to establish a united council, titled "the Algerian declaration." The declaration also calls for the right of return and considers Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

Morocco, Egypt and Jordan are reportedly seeking to block the adaption of the Algerian declaration as a key resolution of the summit, particularly because it may signal a shift of the Palestinian file into Algiers' hands. 

Conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen are also on the agenda.  

Additionally, AFP's reports say Arab foreign ministers are struggling to reach a consensus on the wording around Turkish and Iranian "interference" in the region and whether to mention Ankara and Tehran by name.

During the pre-summit meeting, reports said the Algerian foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra refused his Moroccan counterpart's suggestion to include in the summit's agenda mention of Iran's interference in the region, namely in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Throughout the same meeting, Arab ministers decided to delete the term "condemnation" of Ethiopia regarding its dam Nile conflict with Egypt and Sudan.

The water dispute was sparked by Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project on the Nile.

Sudan and Egypt, which rely most heavily on the Nile's water flow, consider the Ethiopian reservoir as a serious threat to vital water supplies and oppose the project. But the project went ahead and was commissioned on 20 February 2022.

On the other hand, the Algerian leader, whose country keeps strong ties with Moscow, has avoided mentioning Putin's offence on Ukraine.

The Algerian president also warned that "exceptional global conditions are creating polarisation... which is impacting our food security", without directly mentioning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia's President Vladimir Putin sent a message saying Moscow was committed to cooperation with the Arb League to boost "security".

Putin also called for conflicts to "be resolved based on generally accepted international law and a commitment to strict respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries."

The two-day-long summit, the first since 2019, had been postponed multiple times due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The main roads of Algiers were decked out with national flags and large billboards welcoming "Arab brothers" ahead of the event.

Tebboune has rolled out the red carpet for his few "Arab Brothers" who attended the summit, including his Egyptian, Palestinian and Tunisian counterparts Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Mahmud Abbas and Kais Saied, as well as Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.