Arab League eyes more European support for Palestinian cause

Cairo, June 21 (IANS) Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Secretary-General of the Cairo-based Arab League (AL), held talks with a top European Union (EU) official, during which they discussed the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.Aboul-Gheit held the talks with the EU's Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, Sven Koopman on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency citing an AL statement as saying.During the discussion, Aboul-Gheit expressed his hope for "a more united and consistent European stance regarding the Palestinian rights", the AL statement said.He also voiced concerns over the positions of some European states that sided with Israel in its latest strikes on Palestinian territories including the besieged Gaza Strip, which left nearly 250 Palestinians dead. "This gives disappointing messages to the Arab side," Aboul-Gheit said.Representing 22 Arab states, the AL supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the UN-proposed two-state solution.
--IANS ksk/