CAIRO, May 12, 2007 (WAFA) - The Arab League stressed Saturday the need for resolving the Palestinian crisis through full implementation of UN and UN Security Council resolutions that assert the rights of Palestinians in determining their fate and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

In a statement, the league said the anniversary marking the May 15, 1948 occupation of Palestine came at a time when Palestinians were suffering greatly under occupation and were displaced all around the world.

It noted that this day came following the Arab Summit in Riyadh which reasserted that peace was the only strategic option and that the Arab peace initiative was the basis for historic reconciliation and would end the Arab-Israeli conflict, thus bringing stability to the Middle East.

Moreover, the Arab League stressed the importance of Israeli implementation of this peace initiative, which includes withdrawal from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, the right of return for Palestinians in diaspora, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in return for Arab acknowledgement of Israel as a state.

It called on the international community to intervene immediately to lift economic sanctions imposed on the Palestinian people and pressure Israel into accepting the Arab peace initiative adopted in the 2002 Beirut Summit and reaffirmed in the recent Riyadh Summit.

A.D (16:42P) (13:42GMT)