Arab foreign ministers on Saturday voiced support to the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas) despite Western calls for isolating the group following its parliamentary victory.
Arab foreign ministers called on the international community to "respect the will of the Palestinian people and not to interfere in their internal affairs," according to a draft resolution to be released by a two-day Arab foreign ministerial meeting which opened earlier in the day at the Arab League (AL) headquarters in Cairo.
The international community, especially the so-called international Quartet on Mideast peace-making, which groups the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, should allow the Palestinians to "choose their leadership in a democratic way without making any prejudgements."
Hamas, which swept the Jan. 25 Palestinian legislative elections and is expected to soon announce the line-up of a new cabinet, has been under Western pressure to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and accept existing Palestinian- Israeli agreements.
The United States, a staunch ally of Israel, has threatened to cut off vital financial assistance to a Hamas-led Palestinian National Authority if the group does not alter its stance.
Washington has also tried to seek support from its key Arab allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia in isolating Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel.
Most Arab countries, however, have urged the United States to give Hamas "a chance" so that it will transform from a militant group to a major player in Palestinian politics.
The draft resolution also called for pushing forward the long- stalled Mideast peace process according to an Arab peace initiative adopted at the 2002 Arab summit in Beirut.
The Arab plan said that Arab states would normalize relations with Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from land it occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
"The Arab peace initiative is the only way to realize a just, durable and all-out peace in the Middle East," said the draft resolution.
The Arab foreign ministerial meeting was mainly aimed at preparing for an upcoming Arab summit due to be held on March 28- 29 in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.