Qatar renews call for emergency Gaza summit

Qatar's ruler renewed his call to host an emergency Arab summit about Gaza, even though the gathering was increasingly in doubt as Arab leaders are divided over how to deal with the conflict. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are against an emergency summit in Doha on Friday, believing it could scuttle Egyptian efforts to broker a truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers. Qatar's ruler Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said the purpose of the summit wasn't to sabotage truce efforts but to adopt a unified Arab position on Israel's offensive in the coastal strip, now in its 20th day. Hamad also pledged US$250 million for Gaza's reconstruction.