What were the original members of the Arab League?
Arab League
The Arab League ( '), formally the League of Arab States ( '), is a regional organization of Arab states in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Kingdom of Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has 22 members, but Syria's participation has been suspended since November 2011, as a consequence of government repression during the Syrian Civil War.
Djibouti
Djibouti has always been a very active member in the African Union and the Arab League.
Charter of the Arab League
Since then, governance of the Arab League has been based on the duality of supra-national institutions and the sovereignty of its member states. Preservation of individual statehood derived its strengths from the natural preference of ruling elites to maintain their power and independence in decision making. Moreover, the fear of the richer that the poorer may share their wealth in the name of Arab nationalism, the feuds among Arab rulers, and the influence of external powers that might oppose Arab unity can be seen as obstacles towards a deeper integration of the league.
History of the Arab League
In its early years, the Arab League concentrated mainly on economic, cultural and social programs. In 1959, it held the first Arab Petroleum Congress, and in 1964, established the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization. In 1974, despite objections by Jordan, the league recognized the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of all Palestinians.
Arab world
Although no globally accepted definition of the Arab world exists, all countries that are members of the Arab League are generally acknowledged as being part of the Arab world.
Arab League
Since then, governance of the Arab League has been based on the duality of supra-national institutions and the sovereignty of the member states. Preservation of individual statehood derived its strengths from the natural preference of ruling elites to maintain their power and independence in decision making. Moreover, the fear of the richer that the poorer may share their wealth in the name of Arab nationalism, the feuds among Arab rulers, and the influence of external powers that might oppose Arab unity can be seen as obstacles towards a deeper integration of the league.
End of the British Mandate for Palestine
On 22nd March 1945, the Arab league was founded. The Arab Higher Committee (AHC) was reconstituted in November of 1945 to represent Palestinian Arabs and met at the beginning of May 1946 to consider their response to the publication of the Anglo American report. The Arab states reacted with summit meetings at Inshas at the end of May and Bloudan in June. 
After the failure of the London Conference and UN referral the Arabs continued to press their demand for an immediate independent Arab Palestine.
Arab League
The Arab League member states cover over and straddles two continents: Africa and Asia. The area largely consists of arid deserts, such as the Sahara. Nevertheless, it also contains several highly fertile lands like the Nile Valley, the Jubba Valley and Shebelle Valley in the Horn of Africa, the Atlas Mountains in the Maghreb, and the Fertile Crescent that stretches over Mesopotamia and the Levant. The area comprises deep forests in southern Arabia and parts of the world's longest river, the Nile.
Foreign relations of the Arab League
Formal relations between the two organizations started in 1977, when they announced their cooperation in financial, political and economic issues. With a summit between both organizations in Cairo that same year, they have signed several treaties aimed at improving cooperation.
Arab League
Through institutions, such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League's Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific, and social programmes designed to promote the interests of the Arab world. It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to settle some Arab disputes and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis. The League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the "Joint Arab Economic Action Charter", which outlines the principles for economic activities in the region.
Each member state has one vote in the "League Council", and decisions are binding only for those states that have voted for them. The aims of the league in 1945 were to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic and social programs of its members and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties. Furthermore, the signing of an agreement on "Joint Defence and Economic Cooperation" on 13 April 1950 committed the signatories to coordination of military defence measures. In March 2015, the Arab League General Secretary announced the establishment of a Joint Arab Force with the aim of counteracting extremism and other threats to the Arab States. The decision was reached while Operation Decisive Storm was intensifying in Yemen. Participation in the project is voluntary, and the army intervenes only at the request of one of the member states. The growing militarization of the region and the increase in violent civil wars as well as terrorist movements are the reason behind the creation of the JAF, financed by the rich Gulf countries.
Politics of the Arab League
The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland while respecting the sovereignty of the individual member states.
Politics of the Arab League
The Arab League is a political organization aiming to help integrate its members economically, and solve in-between conflicts without asking for foreign aid. It possesses elements of a state representative parliament, while issues of foreign affairs are usually dealt under the United Nations supervision.
Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization
The "Institute of Arab Research and Studies" (IARS) () is a Cairo-based research institute administered by ALECSO. Established as an institution of the Arab League by resolution of the Council of the Arab League on 23 September 1952, the IARS started work on 1 November 1953. Following the creation of ALECSO in 1970, the IARS was brought under ALECSO's administrative control by resolution of the secretary-general dated 10 September 1970. The IARS was admitted to membership of the Federation of Arab Universities in 1994.
Geography of the Arab League
The Arab League is a regional organization of Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean. It covers a combined area of 13 million km². The League extends from Morocco in the west, southward to the Comoros, eastward to Somalia, and northward to Iraq.
1978 Arab League summit
The 1978 Arab League summit was meeting held between Arab leaders on 2 November in Baghdad as the 9th Arab League Summit. The summit came in the aftermath of the Egypt's Anwar Sadat's unilateral peace treaty with Israel. The conference resolved that the agreements signed by the Egyptian Government at Camp David harmed the rights of the Palestinian people. The Egyptian government was urged not to ratify the agreements and to align itself with the Arab League. Most importantly, the League froze its relations with the Government of Egypt. On 31 March 1979, five days after the ratification of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, Arab leaders again convened in Baghdad in the absence of Egypt and decided to expel it from the Arab League. Consequently, the secretariat of the League was moved out of its Cairo headquarters to Tunis. This decision was slowly reversed in the 1980s after president Hosni Mubarak ascended to power. Egypt, which regained strong influence in the region as rival nation Syria was suffering setbacks during the Lebanon Civil War, returned to the Arab League on 23 May 1989 and the headquarters, which never saw completed construction in Tunis, return to Cairo on 12 March 1990.
Flag of the Arab League
The flag was adopted on March 8, 1945 as the organization's National flag. The original creator of the flag is unknown. The flag serves as an official flag for Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
Sabri al-Asali
Al-Asali and Quwatli returned to Syria in 1932 following a general amnesty. In 1933 al-Asali, along with a number of influential Arab thinkers, became a founding member and general-secretary of the League of National Action, with the aim of countering European colonial influence. Other founding members included the historian and professor Constantin Zureiq, the philosopher Zaki al-Arsuzi and the politician Muhsin al-Barazi. The League was very successful in Syria and Lebanon, and called for the abolition of the French and British mandates and the economic integration of Arab countries.
Summit of South American-Arab Countries
ASPA is composed of 34 member-States and the General Secretariats of the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). The South American member-States are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. The Arab members are: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Arab Parliament
At the Arab League Summit of 2001-Amman, the Arab states agreed to create an Arab Parliament, and came up with a resolution to give Amr Moussa the Secretary General of the Arab League the power to start and create the Parliament. In 2004, in the ordinary Arab League Summit in Algiers was the official date where all Arab League Members agreed to send their representative to the temporary Parliament sessions that took place in the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo, Egypt, with each member state sending four members, until the Parliament is reassigned permanently to its under-construction office in Damascus.
Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
At the Cairo Summit of 1964, the Arab League initiated the creation of an organisation representing the Palestinian people. The first Palestinian National Council convened in East Jerusalem on 29 May 1964. The Palestine Liberation Organization was founded during this meeting on 2 June 1964. The area of activity for the PLO was clearly within the then borders of the State of Israel: the Palestinian National Charter of 1964 stated:
Demographics of the Arab League
Muhammad's Islamic Ummah and Christianity were all reportedly founded in or near areas that are now Arab League countries. Consequently, the majority of the Arab League's citizens are either Muslims or Christians. The countries of the Arab League host several holy cities and other religiously significant locations, including Alexandria, Mecca, Medina, Kirkuk, Arbil, and Baghdad. Sunni Muslims constitute the majority of the Arab League's residents. However, large numbers of Shi'a Muslims make up the majority in areas of Lebanon, Iraq, and Bahrain.
Foreign relations of the Arab League
Being conferred observer status in 2007, India was the first member to enter the League although it does not have an Arab community, neither does it have an indigenous Arabic speaking population. It does, however have a sizeable amount of people claiming Arab descent. Trade between India and Arab League members was valued at US$30 billion in 2007. India's major exports to Arab League countries are chemicals, automobiles, machinery, foodstuff and other fast moving products, while it is a large importer of Arab oil and gas. India also has a large diaspora in the Arab League countries of about 5 million, of which some 20% are professionals.
Joint Defence and Economic Co-operation Treaty
The Treaty created two of the principal institutions of the Arab League:
Both councils report to the Council of the Arab League.
Member states of the Arab League
Israel could qualify for membership, as Arabic is one of its two official languages. Around 20% of its population identifies as Israeli Arab, and another 30–40% is believed to have at least a passive knowledge of Judeo-Arabic languages. Nearly half the Jewish population is descended from Jews from Arab countries. However, given the Arab League boycott of Israel and the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and the most of Arab League member states, Israel is unlikely to join the League in the near future.
Lebanon in the Arab League
Lebanon was one of the six founding members of the Arab League on March 22, 1945. The position of secretary general was held by Assad al-Assad from 1990 until 1991.
Military of the Arab League
The Arab Liberation Army (جيش الإنقاذ العربي "Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi"), also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Palestine war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments prevented thousands from joining either force.
Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization
There are 21 members in the AIDMO, all are members in the Arab League.
Economic and Social Council (Arab League)
The Economic and Social Council of the Arab League (ESC; , DIN: , originally the Economic Council) is an institution of the Arab League that co-ordinates its economic integration. The ESC was established as the "Economic Council" under the terms of the Joint Defence and Economic Co-operation Treaty (1950). and held its first meeting in 1953. In 1957, the ESC established the Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) and, in February 1997, the ESC adopted the "Agreement to Facilitate and Develop Trade Among Arab Countries" (1981) in pursuit of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA).
Arab Higher Committee
After the end of the war, Amin al-Husayni managed to find his way to Egypt and stayed there until 1959, when he moved to Lebanon. On 22 March 1945, the Arab League was formed.
Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab League has since re-endorsed the Initiative on several occasions, including at the Riyadh Summit in March 2007. On 25 July 2007, the Jordanian foreign minister Abdul Ilah Khatib and Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit—appointed by the Arab League as its representatives—met with Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, foreign minister Tzipi Livni, and defense minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem. This was the first time that an Israeli government received an official delegation from the Arab League.
Arab Higher Committee
In November 1945, on the urging of Egypt, its leading member, the Arab League reconstituted the Arab Higher Committee comprising twelve members as the supreme executive body of Palestinian Arabs in the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine. The committee was dominated by the Palestine Arab Party, controlled by the Husayni family, and was immediately recognised by Arab League countries. The Mandate government recognised the new Committee two months later. In February 1946, Jamal al-Husayni returned from exile to Palestine and immediately set about reorganising and enlarging the Committee, becoming its acting president. The Istiqlal Party and other nationalist groups objected to these moves, and formed a rival Arab Higher Front.
Hosni Mubarak
Mubarak was involved in the Arab League, supporting Arab efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the region. At the Beirut Summit on 28 March 2002, the league adopted the Arab Peace Initiative, a Saudi-inspired plan to end the Arab–Israeli conflict.
2007 Arab League summit
The 2007 Arab League Summit, also called the 2007 Riyadh Summit, refers to a convention of leaders from 21 members of the Arab League who gathered in Riyadh for the 19th Arab summit in March 2007. The summit convened on the 28 March 2007 and was preceded by a set of preparatory meetings starting on 24 March 2007. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana also attended the summit. The main goal of the conference was to re-launch the Arab Peace Initiative.
Model Arab League
Model Arab League, also known as MAL, is a multi-regional model competition in which high school and university students from across the world learn about and compete as representatives from Member States of the Arab League. Participants are encouraged to use the experience to hone their skills in public speaking and diplomacy, in addition to the primary goal of learning about the politics and history of the Arab world. In the United States, the competitions are administered by The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR). Outside the United States, the University of Peloponnese hosts the Corinth Model Arab League and the American University in Cairo hosts the Cairo International Model Arab League (CIMAL). In the UK, the longest running Model Arab League Conference in Europe UoBMAL [previously named EuroMAL] has been run by the University of Birmingham UN Society [a UNA Youth UK Branch] since 2004.
Foreign relations of the Arab League
Brazil was admitted as an observer to the Arab League in 2002 or 2003. The country has a strong Arab heritage, with over 12 million inhabitants of Arabic descent, many of them from Lebanon. The first Summit of South American and Arab Countries (ASPA) was held in Brazil in May 2005, with 34 countries attending.
Member states of the Arab League
Libya's membership was suspended on 22 February 2011, following the start of the Libyan Civil War and the use of military force against civilians. That makes Libya the second country in the League's history to have a frozen membership. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi declared that the League was illegitimate, saying: "The Arab League is finished. There is no such thing as the Arab League". On 25 August 2011, Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby announced it was "about time" Libya's full member status was restored. The National Transitional Council, the partially recognised interim government of Libya, sent a representative to be seated at the Arab League meeting on 17 August to participate in a discussion as to whether to readmit Libya to the organisation.
Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War
On 6 March 2013, the Arab League gave its members the "green light" to arm the Syrian rebels. On 26 March 2013, at the Arab league summit in Doha, the League recognised the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people.
The Pen League
The primary goals of The Pen League were, in Naimy's words as Secretary, "to lift Arabic literature from the quagmire of stagnation and imitation, and to infuse a new life into its veins so as to make of it an active force in the building up of the Arab nations", and to promote a new generation of Arab writers. As Naimy expressed in the by-laws he drew up for the group: The tendency to keep our language and literature within the narrow bounds of aping the ancients in form and substance is a most pernicious tendency; if left unopposed, it will soon lead to decay and disintegration... To imitate them is a deadly shame... We must be true to ourselves if we would be true to our ancestors.
Free Arabian Legion
Free Arabian Legion (Arabic: جيش بلاد العرب الحرة "Jaysh bilād al-ʿarab al-ḥurraẗ"; German: "Legion Freies Arabien") was the collective name of several Nazi German units formed from Arab volunteers from the Middle East and North Africa during World War II.
Elias Abu Shabaki
In 1930, Abu Shabaki along with Michel Abou Shahla, Khalil Takieddin and Fouad Hobeish, co-founded a literary society conveniently dubbed the "League of ten" () since it at first included ten literary and artistic figures. In addition to the four founding members, the league consisted of Karam Ali Melhem Karam, Youssef Ibrahim Yazbek, Takieddin al-Solh, Toufic Youssef Awwad, Abdallah Lahoud and Michel Asmar. The league waged an assiduous attack on literary figures and the political establishment through articles published in the periodical "al-Maarad", which was subsequently forced to close down by the government. The league's aim was to promote literary renewal and modernization of Arab literature.
Council of Arab Economic Unity
The Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) (Arabic: ) was founded by Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen on May 30, 1964, following an agreement in 1957 by the Economic Council of the Arab League.
Tunis
The Arab League was headquartered in Tunis from 1979 to 1990. The Arab League, which represents 22 Arab nations, transferred its headquarters to Tunis in 1979 because of Egypt's peace with Israel but has been headquartered back in Egypt since 1990.
Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
OAPEC was originally intended to be a conservative Arab political organization which, by restricting membership to countries whose main export was oil, would exclude governments seen as radical — such as those of Egypt and Algeria. This organizational exclusivity was bolstered by an additional rule in the organization's charter requiring the three founders' approval of all new members. The original aim was to control the economic weapon of potential oil embargo and prevent its use caused by popular emotion. Iraq initially declined to join, preferring to work under the umbrella of the Arab League, considering OAPEC too conservative. Equally the three founders considered Iraq too radical to be desirable as a member. However, by early 1972, the criterion for admission had changed to oil being a significant source of revenue (rather than the principal source) of a prospective member nation; and Algeria, Iraq, Syria and Egypt had been admitted. Consequently, OAPEC became a much more activist organization, contrary to the original intention.
Arab League
At a 2015 summit in Egypt, member nations agreed in principle to form a joint military force.
Demographics of the Arab League
According to the League of Arab States, the Arab League is an organization of independent Arab States in North and Northeast Africa and Southwest Asia. Member nations are in turn bound by the Charter of the Arab League.
Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din
Yemen was a founding member of the Arab League in 1945, and later joined the United Nations in 1947.
Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (January–April 2012)
Ministers from the Arab League, which suspended Syria's membership in response to the crackdown, met in Cairo on Sunday to discuss forming a joint UN-Arab League monitoring team in place of a league observer mission that was suspended last month. Sources told Al Jazeera that the league is going to form a new mission of about 3,000 observers that has an international character, under the supervision of the Arab League.
Politics of the Arab League
The Arab League has always supported the Palestinian side of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, as an organization it recognizes the Palestinian Authority as the legitimate Government of the State of Palestine. the Arab League has Addressed the International Community several Times, through the United Nations.
On December 19, 2011, the Syrian Ba'athist government agreed to allow observers from the Arab League to monitor Syria's progress in removing troops from protest areas, free political prisoners, and negotiate with dissidents. The mission was in accordance with the Arab League peace plan aimed to resolve the Syrian crisis. The monitors were dispatched and supported by the Arab League. On January 28, 2012, the Arab League announced an indefinite suspension of its mission, citing "a harsh new government crackdown made it too dangerous to proceed and was resulting in the deaths of innocent people across the country". Nabil al-Arabi, head of the Arab League, said that following discussions with Arab foreign ministers the league decided to suspend all monitoring activity in Syria.
Member states of the Arab League
Egypt - Egypt's membership was suspended in 1979 after it signed the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty and the League's headquarters were moved from Cairo to Tunis. In 1987, Arab League states restored diplomatic relations with Egypt, the country was readmitted to the League in 1989 and the League's headquarters were moved back to Cairo.
Member states of the Arab League
Eritrea applied for membership on 25 March 2014. To be considered for membership, Eritrea needs to improve its relations with other neighboring League members, including Djibouti, Sudan and Somalia. Eritrea has had observer status since 2003.
Arab League
The Arab League is a political organization which tries to help integrate its members economically, and solve conflicts involving member states without asking for foreign assistance. It possesses elements of a state representative parliament while foreign affairs are often conducted under UN supervision.
Arab League
Initially, in 1945, there were only six members. Today, the Arab League has 22 members, including three African countries among the largest by area (Sudan, Algeria and Libya) and the largest country in the Middle East, (Saudi Arabia).
Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization
The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) is a Tunis-based institution of the Arab League, established in accordance with article 3 of the Arab Cultural Unity Charter by an announcement made in Cairo, Egypt, on 25 July 1970. ALECSO works to coordinate cultural and educational activities in the Arab world.
History of the State of Palestine
The framers of the Arab League sought to include the Palestinian Arabs within the framework of the League from its inception. An annex to the League Pact declared:
Even though Palestine was not able to control her own destiny, it was on the basis of the recognition of her independence that the Covenant of the League of Nations determined a system of government for her. Her existence and her independence among the nations can, therefore, no more be questioned "de jure" than the independence of any of the other Arab States... Therefore, the States signatory to the Pact of the Arab League consider that in view of Palestine's special circumstances, the Council of the League should designate an Arab delegate from Palestine to participate in its work until this country enjoys actual independence.
Arabs
According to the Charter of the Arab League (also known as the "Pact of the League of Arab States"), the League of Arab States is composed of independent Arab states that are signatories to the Charter.
Iraq–Turkey relations
After World War II, international relations had changed not only in the Middle East but also globally. Iraq became one of the founders of the Arab League in 1945. This league was founded in order to provide a forum for Arab states, and leaving the door open for a possible future federation. First of all, the founding of Israel has radically changed the politics in the Middle East. Iraq took part in the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 by sending 18.000 troops to defend the Jenin–Nablus–Tulkaram region. This war brought Arab countries together and promoted Arab nationalism and anti-Western ideologies in the region. As a result of pan-Arabism, in the early 1950s, Za'im in Syria examined the possibility of a union between Syria and Iraq. However, first Iraq discouraged Syria's aim, and later it became a remote possibility after the coup d'état in Damascus.
Economic and Social Council (Arab League)
The establishment of the "Economic Council" of the Arab League under the terms of the Joint Defence and Economic Co-operation Treaty (1950) was the fulfilment of the promise made in articles II and IV of the Arab League's Charter (1945), which required the establishment of a council to co-ordinate close co-operation of member-states in economic affairs.
Arabs
Before the expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), "Arab" referred to any of the largely nomadic and settled Semitic people from the Arabian Peninsula, Syrian Desert, and North and Lower Mesopotamia. Today, "Arab" refers to a large number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to the spread of Arabs and the Arabic language throughout the region during the early Muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries and the subsequent Arabisation of indigenous populations. The Arabs forged the Rashidun (632–661), Umayyad (661–750), Abbasid (750–1517) and the Fatimid (901–1071) caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and the Sudan in the south. This was one of the largest land empires in history. In the early 20th century, the First World War signalled the end of the Ottoman Empire; which had ruled much of the Arab world since conquering the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517. This resulted in the defeat and dissolution of the empire and the partition of its territories, forming the modern Arab states. Following the adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the individual sovereignty of its member states.
Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
"A key feature of the Arabs' plans was the complete marginalization of the Palestinians... This aptly reflected the political reality: The military defeats of April–May had rendered them insignificant. The Arab League through the first half of 1948 had consistently rejected Husseini's appeals to establish a government-in-exile... Under strong pressure from Egypt, which feared complete Hashemite control over the Palestinians, the League Political Committee in mid-September authorized the establishment of a Palestinian 'government.'"
Demographics of the Arab League
The Jewish tribes of Arabia were Arabian tribes professing the Jewish faith that inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before and during the advent of Islam. It is not always clear whether they were originally Israelite in ancestry, genealogically Arab tribes that converted to Judaism, or a mixture of both. In Islamic tradition the Jewish tribes of the Hejaz were seen as the offspring of the ancient Israelites. According to Muslim sources, they spoke a language other than Arabic, which Al-Tabari claims was Persian. This implies they were connected to the major Jewish center in Babylon. Certain Jewish traditions records the existence of nomadic tribes such as the Rechabites that converted to Judaism in antiquity. The tribes collapsed with the rise of Islam, with many either converting or fleeing the Arab peninsula. Some of those tribes are thought to have merged into Yemenite Jewish community, while others, like the residents of Yatta consider themselves Islamized descendants of Khaybar, a Jewish tribe of Arabia.
Geography of the Arab League
The Arab League has 22 member states. See the geography of each state:
Terrains in the area can be divided into three main types: the large arid desert covering most of it, the fertile south and north, and finally the high mountains of the Atlas, Ahaggar, Zagros and the Anti-Lebanon mountains, along with the Hijaz Mountain range.
Arab nationalism
The relative independence of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and North Yemen encouraged Arab nationalists to put forward programs of action against colonial powers in the region. According to historian Youssef Choueiri, the "first public glimmerings" of a pan-Arab approach occurred in 1931, during the convention of a pan-Islamic conference in Jerusalem which highlighted Muslim fears of the increasing growth of Zionism in Palestine. Arab delegates held a separate conference and for the first time delegates from North Africa, Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent convened together to discuss Arab matters. A pan-Arabist covenant was proclaimed centering on three main articles:Plans for a near-future conference were made, but never came into play due to Faysal's death in 1933 (delegates chose Faysal of Iraq to be their patron and he agreed to provide moral and material support for the movement) and fierce British opposition. However, the Arab Independence Party was formed by Palestinian and Iraqi activists from al-Fatat as a direct result of the Jerusalem conference on 13 August 1932. Most of the AIP's activities were centered in the Palestinian political field, but the party also worked towards achieving Arab unity and solidarity as a means to strengthen Arab resistance against the British Mandate in Palestine and increased Jewish settlement occurring there. In August 1933, the League of Nationalist Action (LNA) was founded in Lebanon by Western-educated professional civil service groups with the aims of creating a common Arab market and industrial base as well as the abolishment of customs barriers between the Arab countries. By proposing agrarian reforms to limit the power of landowners, abolishing what they considered "feudalism" and promoting the growth of an industry, the LNA sought to undermine the absentee landlords in the Levant who tended to encourage local nationalism and were open to working with European authorities or Jewish land purchasers. The LNA enjoyed a level of popularity throughout the 1930s, but did not survive into the 1940s.
Following the killing of the Syrian Arab guerrilla leader Izz ad-Din al-Qassam by British forces in Ya'bad, Arab-Jewish tensions in Palestine reached a climax. Anti-Zionist sentiments reached a boiling point on 15 April 1936, when an armed group of Arabs killed a Jewish civilian after intercepting his car near the village of Bal'a. After Jews retaliated by killing two Arab farmers near Jaffa, this sparked an Arab revolt in Palestine. The AIP along with Palestinian notables selected popular leader and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini to lead the uprising. The Arab Higher Committee (AHC), a national committee bringing together Arab factions in Palestine, was established to coordinate the uprising. To protest increased Jewish immigration, a general strike was declared and a political, economic, and social boycott of Jews soon ensued.
Organisation of the League of Nations
The League Council acted as a type of executive body directing the Assembly's business. The Council began with four permanent members (The United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan) and four non-permanent members which were elected by the Assembly for a three-year period. The first four non-permanent members were Belgium, Brazil, Greece and Spain. The United States was meant to be the fifth permanent member, but the US Senate voted on 19 March 1920 against the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, thus preventing American participation in the League.
Office of the Arab League, London
The Office of the Arab League in London (or, formally, the League of Arab States) is the diplomatic mission of the Arab League in the United Kingdom.
Arab League–European Union relations
The Arab League was created decades before the Creation of the European Union. Yet the European states have played a big role in the organization. Starting with its launch, which was a British supported Idea, to increase Arab-Nationalism against the Ottomans in the first world war. The European States then suffered with what was called the Independent movements that raged the Arab world. This occurred especially in the French Colonized Algeria, Syria, Lebanon and Morocco, and the British Colonized Iraq, Egypt, Palestine and the Kingdom of Trans-Jordan. Pan-Arabism was at its Peak under Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser during the Suez Canal Crisis. Relations between the two regions started to calm down after Nasser's Death. By 1973 The Arab-European relations were based on oil in exchange of Political support.
History of the Arab League
Arab citizens in general perceive themselves as one people divided among a number of states with history, geography, language, culture, and socio-economic interests propelling them to forge one great Arab Nation (Arabism). The British Empire realized this in the early part of the twentieth century, which helped them secure the cooperation of the Arabs, leading them to revolt (Arab Revolt) against the Turkish Ottoman Empire during World War I. The British promised to help the Arabs establish a united Arab kingdom under Sherif Hussein of Mecca, which would encompass the Asian part of the Arab World (including the modern day Arabian peninsula, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Jordan). After winning the war, however, the British betrayed Sharif Hussein and instead helped divide the region into mini states, implementing their policy of "Divide and Rule".(Sykes–Picot Agreement).
Demographics of the Arab League
Arabic is the Arab League's official language, but additional languages are often used in the daily lives of some of the League's citizens. Currently, three major languages other than Arabic are used widely: Kurdish in northern Iraq and parts of Syria, Berber in North Africa, and Somali in the Horn of Africa.
Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
On 2 December 1945 the Arab League Council formally declared a boycott of any Jewish-owned business operating in Mandatory Palestine: "Jewish products and manufactured [goods] in Palestine shall be [considered] undesirable in the Arab countries; to permit them to enter the Arab countries would lead to the realization of the Zionist political objectives.
Arab Pentagon Commission
The Arab Pentagon Commission, is a branch in the Arab League, which is made up of 5 Arab states, representing all Arab states, these states are Egypt, Qatar, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, in addition to the Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa. The Commission's main goal is to achieve Arab Unity, and an Inevitable Arab Union.
The Arab Pentagon Commission's first session was in the Libyan City of Sirt, following the Arab Summit of 2010, the Commission then moved to Tripoli, and held an official summit there, on the Foreign Minister's level.
2017 Arab League summit
Since the League’s establishment in 1945 and up until 2016, Arab leaders have held a total of 39 summits, of which 27 were ordinary, nine were emergency (or extraordinary) and three were economic. Three of these summits were held in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: The 11th Ordinary Summit in 1980, the 4th Extraordinary Summit in 1987 and the 13th Ordinary Summit in 2001.
Flag of the Arab League
The flag of the Arab League comprises a green banner bearing the seal of the Arab League. The twenty-two links in the chain represent the twenty-two members of the League at the time of the flag's adoption. The script gives the name of the organization: "League of Arab States".
History of the Arab League
The League was weakened over the years by internal dissensions on political issues, especially those concerning Israel and the Palestinians and later on by the three Gulf wars. After Egypt signed a separate peace treaty with Israel on March 26, 1979, other Arab League members met in Baghdad and voted to suspend Egypt's membership and transfer the League's headquarters from Cairo to Tunis. In May 1989, nine years later, Egypt was readmitted and resumed membership. The headquarters returned to Cairo in 1990. This step was sharply disputed as members of the League were deeply divided over the Kuwait crisis and the invitation extended by Saudi Arabia to the United States, which allowed foreign military build-up in its Eastern province. The League was effectively paralyzed by the eruption of the Gulf crisis, and its future as a regional organization became highly uncertain.
Foreign relations of the Arab League
By January 2008 the AL and ASEAN had no significant relations, but the Arab League's Economic Council decided to Expand economic cooperation with Regional blocks, to benefit from their Economic experience and development, and started contacting the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), to build better relations and to increase investments from this region, and to learn from their Economic Achievements to be applied in the League.
which will help the Arab States to increase inner investments and inner imports and exports, the Head of the Delegation, also secretary General of the Arab Council for Economic Development (ACED), Dr. Ahmed Jweily to sign a treaty of understanding and cooperation Between the Two Organizations. The Delegation concluded the visit announcing that three New Arab Unions are to be proposed for the Council's 87th summit in its following Period.
Ahmad bin Yahya
Egypt and Syria signed their pact for a new Arab military alliance on March 3, 1955. Egypt's interest was in putting together a pan-Arab league to counter the pro-Western tilt of the recent Iraq-Turkey pact (which, with the addition of Pakistan and Great Britain would become known as the Baghdad Pact). Three days later from their respective capitals Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia issued a joint decree announcing an agreement to "strengthen the Arab structure politically, militarily and economically." Egypt wanted the remaining four members of the Arab League (Lebanon, Jordan, Libya and Yemen) but Lebanon with commercial interests in the West and the Arab world vacillated and Jordan was disqualified by the terms of British participation in her defense. By the end of March Egyptian diplomatic sources conceded that Syria, under diplomatic pressure from Turkey and Iraq, was refusing to move forward on the plans for joint defense and might decide to withdraw if the agreement continued to prohibit signatories from entering into any defense treaty with any non-Arab nation. Egypt was able to save face, when, on March 26, 1955, Prime Minister Hasan announced in Cairo that Yemen would join the Egypt-Syria-Saudi Pact and participate in the unscheduled premier's conference in Cairo to conclude the pact.
Lebanon in the Arab League
The Arab League was involved in the Lebanese Civil War with the military intervention of the Arab Deterrent Force in 1976. This military force consisted of 25,000 Syrian troops and 5,000 from other Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Sudan, UAE, and Libya. The official existence of this force ended in 1983 when the Lebanese government failed to renew its mandate.
Arab League
Mindful of their previous announcements in support of the Arabs of Palestine the framers of the Pact were determined to include them within the League from its inauguration. This was done by means of an annex that declared:
At the Cairo Summit of 1964, the Arab League initiated the creation of an organisation representing the Palestinian people. The first Palestinian National Council convened in East Jerusalem on 29 May 1964. The Palestinian Liberation Organization was founded during this meeting on 2 June 1964. Palestine was shortly admitted in to the Arab League, represented by the PLO. Today, State of Palestine is a full member of the Arab League.
History of French-era Tunisia
In 1945 the Arab League was formed in Cairo which soon included Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yeman. Soon the Destour's Habib Bourguiba secretly traveled to Cairo where he took up residence while advancing political causes, e.g., the Maghreb Liberation Committee. As the League of Nations had inspired an increase in the awakening of national conscienceness among subject peoples after the first World War, so also did the foundation of the United Nations in San Francisco following World War II. The U.N. provided a forum in which the issue of independence for nations could be advanced before 'world public opinion'. Hence the struggle for independence in Tunisia became part of the global conversation.
Charter of the Arab League
The Charter was concluded on 22 March 1945 by the governments of Syria, Transjordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, and North Yemen. A state joins the Arab League by ratifying the Pact.
Arab League
Syria was suspended on 16 November 2011. On 6 March 2013, the Arab League gave the Syrian National Coalition Syria's seat in the Arab League. On 9 March 2014, secretary general Nabil al-Arabi said that Syria's seat would remain vacant until the opposition completes the formation of its institutions.
Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
The Egyptian government, suspicious of King Abdullah's intentions and growing power in Palestine, put a proposal to the Arab League meeting that opened in Alexandria on 6 September 1948. The plan would turn the temporary civil administration, which had been agreed to in July, into an Arab government with a seat in Gaza for the whole of Palestine. The formal announcement of the Arab League's decision to form the All-Palestine Government was issued on 20 September. The All-Palestine Government was established in Gaza on 22 September 1948 and was recognised by all Arab League countries except Jordan; and on 30 September a rival First Palestinian Congress was convened in Amman and promptly denounced the Gaza "government".
Military of the Arab League
Before the JAC could take shape, a unanimous resolution was passed at the first Arab League summit (January 1964) establishing the United Arab Command (UAC), although the UAC's inactivity following the Samu Incident (1966) and during the Six-Day War (1967) signalled its "de facto" dissolution.
Headquarters of the Arab League
The headquarters witnessed the foundation of the Arab League, and the first summit held at these headquarters occurred in 1964 with Gamal Abdel Nasser. The grounds include an enormous hall with a round table for summits, currently used for the Arab temporary parliamentary sessions. It was also used for Arab Minister summits during the Israeli-Lebanese crisis of 2006.
League of Nationalist Action
The League of Nationalist Action ( "‘Usbat Al-'Amal Al-Qawmi"; ), was a Syrian Arab nationalist political party, created in 1932–1933 by a lawyer of Homs, Abderrazak Al-Dandashli.
Politics of Egypt
The permanent headquarters for the League of Arab States (The Arab League) is located in Cairo. The Secretary General of the League has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu El Ghet is the present Secretary General of the Arab League. The Arab League moved out of Egypt to Tunis in 1978 as a protest at the peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989.
Cold War (1962–1979)
Non-aligned states forged still other forms of economic cooperation as leverage against the superpowers. OPEC, the OAU, and the Arab League had overlapping members, and in the 1970s the Arabs began extending huge financial assistance to African nations in an effort to reduce African economic dependence on the United States and the Soviet Union. However, the Arab League has been torn by dissension between authoritarian pro-Soviet states, such as Nasser's Egypt and Assad's Syria, and the aristocratic-monarchial (and generally pro-Western) regimes, such as Saudi Arabia and Oman. And while the OAU has witnessed some gains in African cooperation, its members were generally primarily interested in pursuing their own national interests rather than those of continental dimensions. At a 1977 Afro-Arab summit conference in Cairo, oil producers pledged $1.5 billion in aid to Africa. Recent divisions within OPEC have made concerted action more difficult. Nevertheless, the 1973 world oil shock provided dramatic evidence of the potential power of resource suppliers in dealing with the more developed world.
Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
Since its formation the Arab League has promoted the Palestinian Arab cause in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, including the imposition of the Arab League boycott of Israel. The Arab League opposed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947. On 15 May 1948, the then seven Arab League members coordinated an invasion of what was by then the former British Mandate, marking the start of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In 1964, the Arab League created the Palestine Liberation Organization to operate within the territory of Israel. During the Six-Day War, the Arab League imposed an oil embargo, which lasted until the Khartoum Resolution in September 1967. The League members also agreed to continue the state of belligerency with Israel and not to negotiate a settlement to the conflict. The signing of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was condemned, and Egypt was suspended from the Arab League in 1979, which lasted until 1989. The Arab League on 15 November 1988 recognized the proclamation of the State of Palestine. The Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel signed the Oslo Accords in 1993 which led to the setting up of the Palestinian National Authority. The Arab League has not made any official statements either supporting the establishment of the Palestinian Authority or condemning it. In October 1994, Jordan signed the Israel–Jordan peace treaty with Israel, and it was not ostracized by the Arab League, as Egypt had been in 1979. In 2002, the Arab League endorsed a Saudi Arabian Arab Peace Initiative which called for full withdrawal by Israel "to the 1967 borders" in return for fully normalized relations.
Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan after independence in 1946), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined on 5 May 1945.
Arab Liberal Federation
The Arab Liberal Federation (ALF; ) is a network of liberal political parties, organizations and activists from Arab countries. It was formed in 2008 in Cairo under the name of Network of Arab Liberals (NAL). Wael Nawara of the Egyptian El-Ghad Party was elected as a first president. The network was renamed The Arab Alliance for Freedom and Democracy in 2011, reacting to the negative connotations that the term 'liberal' has in some Arab countries. In March 2016 the Alliance was renamed to its current name using the term 'Liberal' as ideological identification.
Foreign relations of China
The relations between China and the Arab League as an organization, officially started in 1956, yet it was in 1993, when the Arab League opened its first Office in China, when former Secretary general Essmat Abdel Megeed went to an official Visit to Beijing, in 1996, the Chinese leader Jiang Zemin visited the Arab League headquarters during his visit in Cairo, to become the first Chinese leader to have an official visit for the Arab League.
Arab League monitors in Syria
On January 28, 2012, the Arab League announced an indefinite suspension of its mission, citing "a harsh new government crackdown made it too dangerous to proceed and was resulting in the deaths of innocent people across the country". Nabil al-Arabi, head of the Arab League, said that following discussions with Arab foreign ministers the league decided to suspend all monitoring activity in Syria.A total of 165 Arab League monitors have participated in the mission. The following countries have been named as participants at some point or another:
Egypt
The permanent headquarters of the Arab League are located in Cairo and the body's secretary general has traditionally been Egyptian. This position is currently held by former foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978 to protest the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, but it later returned to Cairo in 1989. Gulf monarchies, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, have pledged billions of dollars to help Egypt overcome its economic difficulties since the July 2013 coup.
Following the 1973 war and the subsequent peace treaty, Egypt became the first Arab nation to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Despite that, Israel is still widely considered as a hostile state by the majority of Egyptians. Egypt has played a historical role as a mediator in resolving various disputes in the Middle East, most notably its handling of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the peace process. Egypt's ceasefire and truce brokering efforts in Gaza have hardly been challenged following Israel's evacuation of its settlements from the strip in 2005, despite increasing animosity towards the Hamas government in Gaza following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, and despite recent attempts by countries like Turkey and Qatar to take over this role.
Arab League
The Arab League as an Organization has no military Force, like the UN or EU, but at the 2007 summit, the Leaders decided to reactivate their joint defense and establish a peacekeeping force to deploy in South Lebanon, Darfur, Iraq, and other hot spots.
Arab League peace plans for Syria
On 16 November, the Arab League indeed suspended Syria’s membership of the League.
Sport policies of the Arab League
Four African and four Asian members of the Arab League have qualified to the FIFA World Cup. Morocco advanced to round of 16 in 1986, Saudi Arabia in 1994, and Algeria in 2014. Neither team has reached quarter-finals.
Member states of the Arab League
Chad's membership was endorsed by the Egyptian government under Hosni Mubarak in 2010. Chad applied for membership on 25 March 2014. Arabic is one of its two official languages, some 12% of Chadians identifying as Arab and around 900,000 are Arabic-speaking.
Foreign relations of the Arab League
Some Arab League members, namely the UAE have also voiced their support pertaining to deploying Indian troops in Iraq, although New Delhi has not decided on this matter. Some Arab League members have also voiced its support for India to be conferred a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. India was among the first countries to recognize Palestine when it was proclaimed in November 1988. In 2011, India confirmed that it will support a Palestinian bid for membership of the United Nations at a meeting of the General Assembly.
Arab League and the Arab–Israeli conflict
In 2002, Saudi Arabia proposed the Arab Peace Initiative in "The New York Times", which was endorsed unanimous at a summit meeting of the Arab League in Beirut. The plan is based on UN Security Council Resolution 242 and Resolution 338, but makes more demands, essentially calling for full withdrawal by Israel "to the 1967 borders" (i.e., the 1949 Armistice line) in return for fully normalized relations with the whole Arab world.
Arab League boycott of Israel
Today, 31 United Nations member states do not recognise the State of Israel. These include 18 of the 22 Arab League members: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen; and a further 9 members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan. In 2002, the Arab League offered recognition of Israel by Arab countries as part of the resolution of the Palestine-Israel conflict in the Arab Peace Initiative.
Military of the Arab League
The military history of the Arab League is closely linked to the Arab–Israeli conflict. The 1950 Arab Joint Security Pact set out provisions for collective security among the Arab states, but only in 1961 was the "Joint Arab Command" (JAC) proposed as a unified military command for the Arab League first by the Joint Defence Council, an institution of the Arab League.
Charter of the Arab League
According to the Charter, "the League of Arab States shall be composed of the: independent Arab States that have signed this Pact."
2017 Arab League summit
In 2000, participants at the Extraordinary Arab Summit, which was hosted by Egypt, agreed to hold the Arab League Council at the Summit Level in an ordinary session in March of every year. This decision was first implemented at the Amman Summit in 2001, which took place on the 26th anniversary of the League’s establishment.