Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz on Monday announced his country's contribution of US$1 billion to Gaza reconstruction and called on Arab countries to heal internal division in face of Israeli aggression.

Speaking at the inauguration of the first Arab economic summit, the Saudi king announced the donation in response to an initiative launched by Arab leaders during the summit, which is scheduled to tackle the Gaza crisis in addition to the impact of global financial crisis and inter-Arab developmental issues.

He denounced the bloodshed in Gaza Strip which has been under intensive Israeli offensive for three weeks and witnessed over 1,400 deaths of Palestinians.

"Israel must realize that choice between peace and war will not always be open to it, and the Arab peace initiative will not always remain on the table," he said.

He hailed the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and all parties that exerted efforts to end the bloodletting, especially Egypt under the leadership of President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt has been leading the mediation efforts between Israel and Palestinian militants led by Hamas, since the launch of the Israeli offensive on December 27.

Mubarak presented on January 6 a three-point proposal calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and give Egypt time to continue its efforts to help reach a lasting truce between the conflicting sides.

However, the Saudi monarchy warned that "Palestinian division is more dangerous than the Israeli aggression," noting that victory is linked to unity.

"Our political conflicts have led to our division and have been of assistance to the Israeli enemy and all those who want to divide the Arab stance at expense of our aspirations," he said.

The king said all Arab leaders were responsible for this weakness in Arab unity and called on them "to overcome our differences and persevere over our enemies and to take an honorable stance."

Due to the Israeli onslaught against the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip, the economic summit, the first of its kind since the establishment of the pan-Arab bloc, has added the slogan of "In Solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza" to the high-level meeting.

Earlier in the day, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaberal-Sabah said during his speech that his country would donate 34 million dollars to enable the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) continue its services in Gaza.

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2009)