Arab League leaders had planned to use the summit, which was slated to start Monday, to submit proposals for political reforms in response to U.S. calls for greater freedoms in the region. Many of the most powerful countries in the Middle East are led by absolute rulers or royal families.

But Israel's March 22 assassination of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin provoked widespread outrage in the Arab world, making it politically risky for some states to pursue a peace initiative or take a stand on a reform plan championed by the Americans.

At the summit, the Arab leaders had also intended to relaunch a 2-year-old Saudi-crafted peace initiative toward Israel.

Syria blamed host Tunisia for the collapse. "This decision is entirely inexplicable. It is inappropriate," Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa said Sunday.

Several governments called for an urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers to overcome differences so the summit of the 22-member Arab League could be held.

In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he hoped the summit would be held and said he would contact Arab foreign ministers in coming days to get their assessment.

Tunisian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatem bin Salem said that if the meeting gone ahead, "the summit would have come out with formalities, and regretfully, would have been the subject of ridicule by Arab and world public opinion."

"Certainly this is not one of our best moments," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said. "The Arab system is not in a good shape."

"It's important to have a summit, and the effort is continuing. I hope the summit will be held soon," Moussa said in Tunis as delegations began heading for home.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak offered to host a new summit "at the earliest time that can be agreed on."

Mubarak is leaning toward April 16, four days after he meets President George W. Bush in Texas, said Yemeni Foreign Ministry officials who spoke after a telephone conversation between Mubarak and the Yemeni president.

Getting Arab states to agree to summits has been tough. The Tunis meeting, scheduled a year ago, had been in doubt for weeks and Tunisia reluctantly agreed to hold it, fearing embarrassment if the session failed.

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