Arab leaders have been urged to reject an international arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for war crimes in Darfur.

Arrest first "those who have committed massacres and atrocities in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon", Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said.

He was speaking at the Arab League's annual summit of heads of state in Qatar which Mr Bashir is attending.

The summit is also expected to discuss Iran's influence in the Middle East.

A number of countries are concerned about Iran's influence in the region, particularly its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and for Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Splits among the Arab League nations have become glaring, says the BBC's Katya Adler who is in Doha, over Arab nations' differing attitudes to internal Palestinian divisions between the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist militant group Hamas.

SUMMIT FACTS

17 out of 22 heads of state attendingPresident Hosni Mubarack of Egypt is absentPresident Omar al-Bashir is flouting an ICC arrest warrant to attendUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is attendingIran is not a member of the organisation

Regional rifts stymie Arab summit

Our correspondent says Western-backed Sunni nations fear the spread of Iranian influence - in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq and amongst marginalised Shia communities in the Gulf States - and are suspicious of those they regard as Iran's Arab friends, such as Syria and Qatar.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is attending the two-day summit, criticised Sudan's decision to expel aid agencies in Darfur taken after the International Criminal Court arrest warrant was issued.

"Relief efforts should not become politicised," he said.

In his remarks, President Bashir of Sudan thanked the Arab League for support against the ICC warrant.

"This support will continue, God willing, through resolutions... demanding that those who fabricated it, revoke it... so that the Arab and African peace initiative in Darfur can get a strong base to stand on," he said.

Qatar has not signed the ICC charter, which obliges a member state to arrest those indicted by the court when they enter its territory.

Many African states, along with Sudan's key ally China, have called for the ICC proceedings to be suspended, arguing it will hamper efforts to bring peace to Darfur.

'Usurped rights'

In other opening remarks, President Assad said the Arab Middle East peace initiative launched in 2002 was ineffective because the Arabs did not have a real peace partner in Israel.

"Peace for the Israelis is no more than a tactical option being used as a cover-up for their long-term objectives based on the principle of not returning our usurped rights," the Syrian president said.

The peace initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia, offers Israel full recognition if it withdraws from all the land occupied in 1967.

The plan proposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and also a "just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem", based on people returning to their homes or the payment of appropriate compensation.

One notable absentee is President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; correspondents say he is unhappy with Qatar's stance during the recent Gaza conflict.