International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Nov. 20, 2002

Arab foreign ministers meeting in Damascus are trying to reach common positions on the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq and the US backed "road-map" for peace in the region, according to the Associated Press.

Officials from Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinians, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Bahrain, Yemen and the Arab League have gathered for the two-day meeting.

Both the Iraqi stand off and deteriorating Israeli-Palestinian situation threaten to destabilize the entire region prompting frantic diplomatic attempts to find common ground. Syria, the host, joined the US and 13 other members of the UN Security Council in voting for the resolution calling on Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to disarm.

While Saddam’s acceptance of weapons inspectors has had somewhat of a calming effect on the atmosphere, Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud expressed fears shared by many Arabs that a US war against Iraq was inevitable.

"The (US) strike has been decided and discussions are centering on efforts on how to delay it as much as possible," he told Lebanon's nationalist newspaper As-Safir.

US envoys that visited the region recently have pushed for the latest US-backed peace plan. The so-called "road map" for peace envisions a three-phase establishment of a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel.

Meanwhile, on the 25th anniversary of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's landmark journey to Jerusalem, Cairo announced that it is cutting agricultural ties with Israel.

An-Nahar, an Egyptian newspaper, reported that Egypt’s agriculture minister noted the reason as "the Israeli government's negative position, which is not in line with the principle of peace in the region."

One Israeli official was surprised at the report.

"We are very sorry about this," he said, "but it is nothing new."

He said although the move is a disappointing sign of the state of "normalization" between the two countries, the peace treaty has lasted for a quarter of a century and withstood a number of crises.