Arab leaders, gathering here on Monday for the 21st Arab League (AL) summit intended to unify positions on a series of issues facing the region, apparently remain divided on such thorny issues as stances on Iran and the Palestinian issue.

Analysts here expect the Arab leaders attending the summit to come up with a unified stance on the issue of Sudan in the light of the International Criminal Court��s (ICC��s) arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur, while expecting that their differences on the longstanding Palestinian issue and Iran would continue to exist.

MODERATE-HARDLINER RIFT

The Arab world has long been mired in an awkward state of division, and their rifts only widened over how to deal with Israel��s three-week bombardment of the Gaza Strip in December 2008, with some nations calling for tough actions but others opting for a more moderate approach.

The split between the so-called "moderate camps" represented by Saudi Arabia and Egypt and the hardliners represented by Syria was highlighted after Egypt and Saudi Arabia stayed away from an emergency summit called by Qatar in January.

The rift obvious stays as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced the plan to stay away from the Doha summit days before its opening.

Egypt and Qatar have taken apparently different positions on the Palestinian crisis. Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia, have been firm supporters of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, while Syria and Qatar support Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in an address to the opening ceremony of the summit, called on Arab states to suspend an Arab peace initiative proposed at the 2002 AL Beirut summit that offered Israel normal ties in return for its withdrawal from Arab land seized in 1967, saying Israel has never been serious about it.

He also suggested that when initiatives are made concerning differences between two countries of different parties in one country, the support or adoption of the Arab League at the summit or foreign ministerial level should be based on the acceptance of all parties, not some of them.

Syria, like Qatar, has been supporting Hamas, endorsing its resistance against Israel as legitimate responses to the Jewish state, which rejects returning all Arab land it seized in 1967.

Qatar, which has been also active mediating the Palestinian groups in the wake of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, invited Hamas representatives and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the January emergency summit, which had been boycotted by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Hamas has not been invited to the current summit, due to the protests of regional powers.

Meanwhile, how to push forward the reconstruction in Gaza is also a problem, with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) led by Abbas being designated to lead the efforts while Hamas, which controls Gaza, being isolated.

DIVIDED OVER IRAN

Besides the Palestinian issue, the Arab leaders have also been divided over Iran.

Qatar has maintained close links with Iran, despite U.S. and Arab pressure to keep a distance. Answering a question regarding the impact of Qatar's relationship with Iran on its ties with Egypt on Saturday, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani said, "On our relations with other countries, we do not ask the permission of any one. Every country determines its foreign policies in accordance with its best interests."

The Egyptian and Saudi leaders, traditional regional powers and U.S. allies in the region, see Iran's hand behind the Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas in the Palestinian territories, which seems to be gaining clout.

Iran, whose influence has been expanding since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, has been finger-pointing on the Middle East peace issues, criticizing some Arab states for not doing enough to stop the Israeli war on Gaza last January, to the displeasure of the traditional regional powers.

"As much as we appreciate Iran's support for Arab causes, we would like to see it channeled through Arab legality and be in harmony with its objectives," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said earlier this month.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt have also shared the Western suspicion against Iran��s disputed nuclear program, wary of the emergence of another nuclear power in the region.

The situation has further complicated by some Gulf countries�� strained relations with Iran. Last February witnessed a strain in the Iranian-Gulf relationships in the aftermath of alleged Iranian statements about Bahrain, a Saudi ally, being a historical part of its territories. Morocco severed diplomatic relations with Iran after condemning the statements.

This time, Morocco's King Mohammed VI also stayed away from the summit, sending instead his brother Moulay Rachid, who has no official title, to attend the summit.

Ali al-Ahmed, a Saudi opposition figure, said that "The Doha summit is becoming a battleground between the emerging de facto alliance between Qatar, Syria and Iran, on one side, and the Saudis, Egyptians and Jordanians, on the other."