Twenty one kings, presidents and top officials from the Arab League summit pose for a group photo, at a gathering near the Dead Sea in Jordan on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. (AP/PTI Photo)
Dead Sea, Jordan: Arab leaders on Wednesday endorsed key Palestinian positions in the conflict with Israel — a signal to President Donald Trump that a deal on Palestinian statehood must precede any Israeli-Arab normalisation.
In a one-day summit, they relaunched a peace plan that offers Israel normalization with Arab and Muslim states, provided it cedes lands it captured in 1967 to a future Palestinian state.
A closing statement said that "peace is a strategic option" for Arab states. "The summit has ended with a message of peace," said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
The Arab peace plan was first launched in 2002. Its renewed endorsement on Wednesday would undercut Israel's proposal of a regional peace in which normalisation with some Arab countries would precede a deal with the Palestinians.
The Palestinian quest for independence also served as a showcase for Arab unity.