The Israeli government continues its settlement policy and has intensified military attacks in Gaza since late February, which have killed and injured hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

Meanwhile, Palestinian militants continue firing rockets into Israel, also causing casualties of Israelis.

Distrust built up after decades of attacks and deaths has made it difficult to move an inch ahead in negotiations, noted the analysts.

Iraq turmoil endangers overall security in region

Five years after the US war against Iraq, violences are still rampant in the war-torn country. Statistics show that nearly 90, 000 Iraqi civilians were killed and 4.2 million people became refugees during years of turbulences.

Meanwhile, sectarian violence and insurgency, stagnant reconstruction process, high unemployment rate and the slow healing of the wounds of war in Iraq constitute negative impact on neighboring countries and threat to regional security and stability as a whole.

On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed a crackdown on Shiite gunmen despite protests and mounting casualties, as Iraqi troops battled militias in the cities of Basra and Kut.

Maliki has reportedly cancelled plans to attend the Damascus summit as the crackdown continued.

In addition, other factors of instability, such as Iran's nuclear issue and the armed conflict between Turkey and the PKK, also bothers the Middle East, which require Arab leaders to meet and discuss a solution.

However, the absence of some heavyweights to this summit in Damascus would inevitably reduce its significance and effectiveness.

Therefore on Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa stressed in their talks the need to enhance Arab solidarity and joint action to confront such dire challenges.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2008)