According to sources, one of the main reasons for the absence of some Arab leaders at the Doha Summit on Gaza two weeks ago was mainly tied to power inheritance ambitions of leaders of some Arab republics as they are enthusiastically paving the way for their sons to come to power after them. 

An example for this is what is happening for the son of the Egyptian President Jamal Muhammad Husni Mubarak being under preparation to become, through democratic elections, Egypt’s President after his father. In order for President Mubarak to attain his goal there should be  western support particularly from the United States. Hence, he has to not disappoint Israel, as the US will get angry and this would be reflected on the dream of his son, Jamal, to be president. 

To avoid upsetting Israel and the US, President Mubarak did not only disappoint the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip preventing aids to reach the one and a half million population when it  was pounded by Israel through the Rafah crossing, but also made efforts to impede a Doha emergency summit on Gaza.

President Mubarak along with other Arab leaders failed to attend the summit in an attempt to make it appear incomplete. 

Among those leaders who did not attend the summit was President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen who was very zealous to hold an emergency summit on Gaza when it became under Israeli sea, air and ground assaults. President Saleh, days before the summit, delivered a speech in front of senior military leaders in which he criticized the slowness of Arab countries to support the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip. His speech was repeated again and again by almost all Arab media. However, a day before the summit was held, Yemen announced it will not take part in the Doha summit on Gaza.

The announcement came after President Saleh received a phone call from the king of Saudi Arabia who in fact conveyed a message from  President Mubarak asking Saleh to apologize for that he would not attend the Doha summit. 

Earlier, President Mubarak paid a visit to Saudi Arabia which also didn’t take part in the summit. 

President Saleh’s reply to Mubarak’s appeal was instant as he is in common with Mubarak as the two presidents are planning to bring their sons, Mubarak’s Jamal and Saleh’s Ahmed, to power through elections. However, Yemen announced that its excuse for not attending was that it saw it was necessary that all Arab leaders attend the summit and not some. 

Objectively considering advantages and disadvantages of Yemen’s participation in the Doha summit and away from religious and national responsibilities, observers believe that Yemen should have taken part in the summit. The main players involved in the Saada issue including Iran, Syria and Libya besides the host country Qatar were all available at the summit.

With the absence of Yemen at the summit, the country should expect overstatements by Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, leader of the rebels in the Northern Province of Saada that Yemen disappointed the Palestinian people in Gaza inclining in favor of  the US with not taking part in the Doha summit, therefore getting more support inside Yemen.