Yemen surprised observers as it suddenly reduced its participation in 20th Arab Summit held in Damascus over March 29-30. Vice-president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi was delegated to attend the meetings on behalf of President Saleh who used to attend all former Arab summits.

Observers stressed the absence of Saleh could have a passive impact on the Palestinian reconciliation and the Yemeni initiative aiming to patch the differences between the different Palestinian factions.

Journalist Abdul Bari Atwan pointed out that Saleh's recent visit to Saudi Arabia could be a reason for not attending the summit. He hinted that Yemeni authorities are pressured by the United States that tries to divide Yemen once again into South and North.

Saleh's absence has been widely echoed in Arab public opinion and media and some observers consider his absence to be a signal that Sana'a Declaration between Fatah and Hamas has reached an impasse. They assure that it is not time to recognize Hamas as a partner and none wants to embarrass Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Sources revealed that Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi met the chairman of Damascus-based Hamas Political Bureau Khalid Mashaal who has been briefed by the former on reasons for Saleh's absence.

The same sources insinuated that Saleh absented himself because Abbas declined to support Sana'a Declaration which could be embarrassing to him in person and other Arab countries including Egypt and Saudi Arabia as well as the U.S.

President Saleh should have been there to administer the Palestinian file and to come up with a resolution to support the Yemeni initiative which aims to end up the internal Palestinian differences.

Similarly, other Arab acting parties like Saudi Arabia and Egypt sent low-level diplomats to attend the summit and this prompted the Libyan President Mu'mer Al-Qadhafi to blame the U.S. and Western pressure for the low representation.