Holding this year’s summit in a tent in the capital Nouakchott,
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said it was “a historic
event that the Mauritanian people have long awaited.” But only a handful of leaders turned up, which pundits said pointed to
the pan-Arab organization’s struggles under the strain of various
regional crises – including the conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and
Libya.

Egypt’s president Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi, along with Saudi King Salman and
his powerful son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were
noticeably absent. Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Palestinian president,
Mahmoud Abbas, and the leaders of Tunisia, Algeria and Tunisia also
failed to turn up.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam proposed the establishment of safe
“refugee zones,”

Peace process discussed

The region’s leaders that were present expressed their support for a
French initiative to hold an international peace conference by the end
of the year to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, although Israel
rejected the initiative. Leaders hit out at what they said was terrorism carried out in the name
of Islam and called for an “Arab strategy” to find solutions.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam proposed the establishment of safe
“refugee zones,” which would be supervised by an Arab commission, inside
Syria. Syria’s neighbors, including Lebanon, are home to millions of
refugees fleeing the country’s five year conflict.