Muslim states take stand against Israel

Arafat sitting next to Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League

DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- Muslim states agreed Saturday to move toward halting political contacts with Israel to pressure it to end eight months of deadly clashes with the Palestinians.

The 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said that the group had recommended the suspension of all economic and political ties with Israel.

The group's statement also called for a halt in normalizing ties with Israel.

The action by the OIC came after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat appealed for a firm stance against Israel. Arafat demanded a "firm and solid stand as an Arab and Islamic nation in the face of this wicked aggression."

There have been growing calls in the Muslim world for suspension of all political contacts with Israel amid a Palestinian uprising in which over 500 people -- the vast majority Palestinian -- have been died since September.

Last week Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo called for a freeze on relations with Israel but stopped short of demanding a full break in ties.

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Amid continuing international shuttle diplomacy, William Burns, the new U.S. envoy for the Middle East, is due to hold separate meetings Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Arafat.

Peace efforts are currently centring on implementing recommendations of an international commission led by former U.S. senator George Mitchell which published its report into the violence Monday. It called for an immediate ceasefire, Palestinian steps to rein in militants and a freeze on Jewish settlements.

Sharon has repeated his call for a cease-fire. Palestinians have dismissed the initiative as a propaganda ploy.

At the OIC meeting the head of state of Qatar -- which currently chairs the 56-nation organisation -- said U.S. President George W. Bush should force Israel to stop immediately what he called attacks on Palestinian civilians.

Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the escalation in fighting in the Palestinian territories, where Israeli fighter-bombers carried out airstrikes last week in retaliation for a Palestinian suicide bombing.

Israeli police collect evidence in Hadera

A motion before the meeting strongly criticises U.S. support for Israel with American-made weapons, such as F-16 fighter bombers and Apache helicopters have been used in its attacks Palestinians.

Some hard-line members, including fiercely anti-American Iraq, have raised the idea of a jihad or holy war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi called for a complete boycott of the Jewish state with which three member states -- Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania -- currently have diplomatic relations.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said that OIC members, representing 1.2 billion Muslims around the world, must take a stand that commands respect in Washington.