Arab League Regional Summit Begins in Baghdad to Address Ongoing Crisis in Gaza

Arab League Regional Summit Begins in Baghdad to Address Ongoing Crisis in Gaza

On Saturday, regional leaders gathered in Baghdad for the annual Arab League summit, where the ongoing war in Gaza once again emerged as the main topic of discussion.

Back in March, during an emergency summit held in Cairo, Arab leaders approved a proposal for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, planning to rebuild the area without displacing its nearly two million residents.

Saturday’s summit comes at a time when two months have passed since a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was broken in January. In recent days, Israel has launched extensive attacks on Gaza, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to intensify efforts to destroy Hamas.

However, the significance of the Baghdad summit has been somewhat overshadowed by the recent Middle East visit of U.S. President Donald Trump. Despite expectations, Trump’s visit did not yield any new ceasefire agreement for Gaza. Instead, he made headlines by meeting with newly appointed Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara and pledging to lift U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria.

Ahmad al-Shara was not present at the summit. The Syrian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. Al-Shara’s absence was due to opposition from Iraqi Shia militias and political factions, as he is a controversial figure for them. In the past, he was a Sunni insurgent who fought against U.S. forces and currently faces a terrorism-related arrest warrant in Iraq.

Ahmad al-Shara, formerly known as “Abu Mohammad al-Golani,” was associated with al-Qaeda during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, when he fought against American forces following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He still has an outstanding warrant against him on terrorism charges.

During the Syrian civil war that began in March 2011, several Iraqi Shia militias fought in support of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. As a result, al-Shara is now seen as a highly sensitive figure among those groups.

Iraq, which maintains close yet often conflicting relationships with both the United States and Iran, is trying to maintain a delicate balance and position itself as a regional mediator. According to an Iraqi political official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force, visited Baghdad ahead of the summit, delivering messages in support of Iran-U.S. nuclear negotiations and calling for the lifting of sanctions.