South American and Arab leaders at their first regional summit have endorsed a declaration condemning the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and calling for trade liberalisation to lift the planet's poor out of misery.
Banding together in an event aimed at dampening the dominance of developed countries, they ended the two-day Summit of South American-Arab Countries by staking out positions that are at odds with US policy on several fronts.
Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and American-backed Iraqi President Jalal Talabani joined dozens of other nations in approving a Declaration of Brasilia condemning terrorism, denouncing US sanctions against Syria and supporting moves to give developing countries more clout on the international stage.
Pushing a goal he has pursued since becoming the country's first elected leftist leader, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva urged participants to fight for free-trade rules that help the developing world's masses instead of rich countries and multinational corporations.
Palestinian crisis
Arab states, under pressure from Washington to reform authoritarian governments, chose to focus on the Palestinian crisis.
The declaration calls for tighter political and economic links between the regions but demands that Israel disband settlements and retreat to its borders before the 1967 Mideast war.
Terrorism
The document denounces terrorism but asserts the right of people "to resist foreign occupation in accordance with the principles of international legality and in compliance with international humanitarian law".
The clause - a clear reference to the Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanon's Hizb Allah, groups condemned by the US and Israel - drew criticism from Jewish groups.
On Iraq, it stresses respect for the “unity, sovereignty and independence of Iraq and of not interfering in its internal affairs.”
PHOTO CAPTION
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) speaks through an interpreter with his Algerian counterpart Abdelhaziz Bouteflika (R) during the closing session of the Summit of South American and Arab Countries in Brasilia May 11, 2005. (REUTERS)