Click on a country name for more information

The Arab League's foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting in Cairo this weekend to discuss a unified approach to Israel's occupation of West Bank towns.

While there have been huge demonstrations across the Arab world in support of the Palestinians, Arab leaders have differing views on what to do.

Egypt

Egypt has scaled back its links with Israel amid increasing frustration over Israel's offensive.

Protests - banned elsewhere in Egypt - have been tolerated in universities

It is one of only three Arab nations to have established relations with Israel and is seen as a key player for any solution.

President Hosni Mubarak is so far emphasising negotiation rather than any military action.

Though his government has cut political ties, vital diplomatic channels remain open.

And Mr Mubarak - seen as leaning more to the West than some of his fellow Arab leaders - has urged the US to take steps to rein in Israel.

Thousands of demonstrators at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo on Friday called for military intervention by a pan-Arab force, chanting: "One, two, where is the Arab army?"

Demonstrations are banned in Egypt but huge gatherings backing Palestinians have been tolerated on several university campuses.

Back to top

Jordan

Jordan is also demanding that the US pressure its ally to leave the West Bank.

Arab states with Israel ties

Egypt Jordan Mauritania

Up to two-thirds of Jordan's population are of Palestinian descent and thousands of protesters clashed with security forces in the capital Amman on Friday while trying to march on the Israeli embassy.

Jordan's King Abdullah has warned US President George W Bush that the peace process will be destroyed if the Israeli action escalates.

A nine-hour televised telethon - the idea of King Abdullah - has raised more than $9m for the Palestinians. Among those who made donations were all 27 members of the Jordanian cabinet who each gave a month's salary.

Back to top

Saudi Arabia

Saudi leaders are continuing to push the land-for-peace proposal of Crown Prince Abdullah, which was supported by the Arab League at a summit last month.

About 2,000 protesters are reported to have defied a ban on demonstrations and gathered outside the US consulate in the eastern city of Dhahran to voice support for the Palestinians.

Another 2,500 demonstrators who reportedly marched outside the nearby town of al-Qatif were surrounded by police, but no violence was reported.

Earlier this week about 150 Saudis burned US and Israeli flags in an impromptu demonstration in Skaka, in the north of the kingdom, but the government has reiterated its ban on public protests.

Back to top

Lebanon

Lebanese police stopped protesters reaching the US embassy

Hezbollah guerrillas have been exchanging fire with Israeli troops this week in a dispute over the Shebaa Farms area which is claimed by both Israel and Lebanon.

Street protests against Israel continued in the capital, Beirut, and the town of Baalbeck in the north.

Back to top

Syria

President Bashar al-Assad told UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that Israel was committing massacres against the Palestinians and that there could be no solution until Israel withdrew from the West Bank and Gaza.

Syrians, who want the return of the Golan Heights seized by Israel in the 1967 war, have also been holding rallies in support of the Palestinians.

Back to top

Yemen

Yemeni journalists called for action to be taken against the US as an Israeli ally

Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Salih has called on Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania to sever all ties with Israel and has stopped his normal work schedule in protest at the occupations.

Thousands of citizens have protested in the capital Sanaa and groups have also occupied the street outside the city's US embassy.

Back to top

Qatar

About 10,000 people staged a march in support of the Palestinians in the capital, Doha.

The government has urged the US to do more to achieve peace in the Middle East and ministers support the idea for an emergency Arab League summit to discuss the occupations.

Back to top

Bahrain

Petrol bombs are reported to have been thrown at the US embassy. The Gulf Arab state is home to the US Fifth Fleet.

United Arab Emirates

A rare series of demonstrations has been held in the UAE while the government adds its voice to the calls for the US to halt the Israeli action.

About 7,000 protesters rallied in front of a tower housing the US consulate in Dubai, denouncing American "bias" towards Israel.

Sheikh Zayid Bin-Sultan Al Nuhayyan has decided to sponsor 5,000 orphans in the Palestinian territories as part of humanitarian aid he has been giving since the start of the intifada in September 2000.

Back to top

Iraq

President Saddam Hussein has called for all Arab countries to break off all relations with Israel and to allow arms for the Palestinians to cross their land.

He also said Arab nations should pull out of the US-led war on terror, but that could be more for Iraq's benefit as it could be President Bush's next target.

About 20,000 Iraqis marched on a UN building in Baghdad, demanding that Israeli forces leave the Palestinian territories.

Back to top

Libya

Colonel Gaddafi wants Arab states to line up against Israel

Libya's leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has urged Arab League nations to gather for a council of war to formulate a hard-line policy against Israel.

He appeared on local television to support the Palestinians.

But the Arab League's foreign ministers are unlikely to follow his hawkish path.

Back to top

Mauritania

The only member of the Arab League to have recognised Israel apart from Egypt and Jordan is pushing for a diplomatic rather than military solution.

Protesters there have also taken to the streets to support the Palestinians.

Outside the Arab world

Iran

Cabinet ministers joined protesters on the streets in Tehran

Government officials joined protesters outside Palestinian offices in Tehran to condemn the Israeli military moves.

There was no immediate official reaction to allegations from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Iran, in conjunction with Syria, was aiding Hezbollah guerrillas involved in skirmishes with troops on the Israel-Lebanon border.

Uganda

Police banned an Islamic prayer meeting planned in Kampala.

Elsewhere in Africa political leaders called on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to embrace a Saudi peace plan for the Middle East.