Arab leaders plan emergency Gaza summit

Arab leaders gathering in Kuwait next week for their first economic summit will discuss reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by an Israeli onslaught, an official said on Monday.

"The summit will discuss the reconstruction of Gaza," Mohammad Abulhassan, adviser to Kuwaiti emir and head of the summit's media committee, told a news conference.

Arab foreign ministers are due to hold an emergency meeting in Kuwait on the Gaza conflict on Friday ahead of the economic summit, Arab League chief Amr Mussa said on Monday.

Qatar requested such a meeting on Sunday to discuss Israel's rejection of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The meeting in Kuwait "will examine the developments relating to Israel's refusal to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 1860," Mussa told reporters in Cairo.

It was not immediately known whether the foreign ministers' meeting will lead to a special emergency summit on Gaza, but Abulhassan said that Arab leaders will be free to add any subject to their agenda.

He said that all Arab countries have confirmed their attendance at the economic summit and that "so far no Arab country has notified the host nation it will not attend."

Asked if Hamas had been invited, Abulhassan said: "Invitations were sent out to all member countries of the Arab League, specifically to heads of state."

The January 19-20 summit will discuss ways to boost Arab economic integration.

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