21.   In past Arab summits, leaders have also demanded that Israel surrender occupied land in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon.

22.   Israeli officials said they were not surprised by the way that the Arab summit had taken.

23.   Israeli television reports last year said Arafat was seriously ill, and other reports from Egypt said he fainted during an Arab summit.

24.   My thinking was to deliver it before the Arab summit and try to mobilize the entire Arab world behind it.

25.   Saudi Arabia and Syria have shown little enthusiasm for Arab summit meetings since the Persian Gulf war, which seriously divided the Arab world.

26.   Saudi Arabia could also play a moderating role at the Arab summit meeting if the situation in the Palestinian territories stabilizes quickly.

27.   Since leaving Washington last week, Arafat has paid visits to Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in a bid to rally support for an Arab summit meeting.

28.   Several ministers said the continued resistance of the Palestinians to occupation was a more potent tool than any statement or plan devised by Arab summit meetings.

29.   So I asked, What if Sharon and the Palestinians agreed to a cease-fire before the Arab summit?

30.   Syria has signaled its support for the plan, making its endorsement more likely at an Arab summit in Beirut later this month.