Syria’s ambassador to the league, Youssef Ahmad, accused the League of replacing a legitimate state with a “monstrosity,” Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported.

He indicated that the practices of the Arab League regarding the crisis in Syria since its beginning haven’t been related to its charter or its internal system or the principles of the joint Arab work as well as the interests of the national security.

Syria’s membership was suspended in November 2011.

Speaking at the opening session Foreign Minister Davutoğlu pointed out that the Summit marks the beginning of a new chapter in the quest of a free, democratic and prosperous Syria.

“It represents a historic milestone as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people today have rightfully taken the seat of their country in the Arab League”, he added.

Meanwhile, Syrian National Coalition leader Khatib in addressing the summit in Doha said that he had asked US Secretary of State John Kerry to provide Patriot missile protection that covers northern Syria, and that Kerry had “promised to look into the matter.”

The White House said Tuesday that NATO would not provide Patriot missile batteries to protect rebel strongholds in Syria, AFP reported.

“I think that a Patriot missile battery would follow the definition of military assistance,” Carney said, adding that Patriot anti-missile batteries in Turkey were for self-defense only.

Even though al-Kahtib resigned from the coalition due to lack of support from the international community for help in ending the nation’s bloody conflict the Coalition hasn’t accepted his resignation.

NATO’s  involvement in Syria’s war until now has been to position Patriot missile batteries along the Turkish border in order to prevent any  missile launches from the Syrian side. their purpose is solely for self defense.

“In order to maintain this noble humanitarian requirement promoted by all religions, we must disseminate and deepen the dialogue with a view to achieve peace between human beings, to avoid conflicts, to put an end to acts of aggression and arrogance, to respect religious, cultural, and civilizational particularity of peoples, and to encourage pursuit of positive interaction between civilizations, cultures, and religions,” Bin Abdulaziz told the gathered delegates at the 67th Assembly’s General Debate at UN Headquarters in New York.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the act of “an irresponsible group who produced an offensive movie about the Prophet Muhammad,” he said – referring to an anti-Islam video produced in the US and which has led to a violent reaction in various cities across the world – and noted that in this context, his country renews its calls to enact laws and regulation that forbid the defamation of religious symbols.

Bin Abdulaziz stressed that Saudi Arabia also condemns the acts of violence that followed the release of the film against United States foreign missions, and underlined that diplomats around the world must be protected. The US Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, along with others, was recently killed in the eastern Libya city of Benghazi in violence believed to be linked to the anti-Islam video.

“Diplomatic envoys are protected by inviolability and immunity that is urged by our noble religion first and international treaties as well, due to the importance of diplomacy in preserving international interests,” the Vice Minister said.

He also urged the international community to act on the Syrian crisis which has reached “exacerbated and complicated limits,” and reiterated that Saudi Arabia stands ready to work through legitimate international frameworks in accordance to humanitarian law.

However, he noted with regret that the Security Council has not been able to reach agreement on united action to put a stop to the violence in the Middle Eastern country, in which more than 18,000 people have been killed since an anti-government uprising erupted 18 months ago.

“We regret that this regime continues to believe that it can proceed with its suppressive procedures to control the situation without any due regard to the high humanitarian losses,” he said. “The Security Council, which is entrusted with the responsibility of keeping peace and security, has failed so far to take a decision about the Syrian crisis and to stop the bloodshed therein.”

“This matter gave the Syrian regime a green light to proceed with its crimes against the Syrian people, in a race against time, to accomplish its objectives using the most advanced means of killing and destruction,” the Vice Minister added.

A new strategy that aims to achieve a peaceful transition to power and that surpasses the previous plan put forward by the former Joint envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, Kofi Annan, is vital, the Saudi official said, adding that the current UN-Arab League Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, will not be able to move forward unless the Security Council provides him with the support he needs to deal with the crisis at a political and humanitarian level.

Regarding the Middle East peace process, Bin Abdulaziz told the General Assembly that his country believes the way this protracted conflict can be solved is by responding to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, particularly their right to establish an independent State.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which grants the Palestinian issue top priority, urges the international community represented by the United Nations to swiftly put an end to the tragedy of the Palestinian people and to provide its National Authority with all forms of support and assistance,” he said, adding that Saudi Arabia “is sparing no effort to meet all its obligations towards the peace process and towards our Palestinian brothers by the provision of various types of support and assistance.”

The Saudi official is one of scores of world leaders and other high-level officials presenting their views and comments on issues of individual national and international relevance at the Assembly’s General Debate, which ends on 1 October.

“This time has passed now. Now it is time for change,” Mursi said , during his first presidential address to the league, on Wednesday in the capital Cairo.

”No time to be wasted talking about reform,” he added.

Mursi reiterated his call for Bashar al-Assad to step down warning him to take lessons from history in reference to Arab Spring uprsings that overthrew dictators of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

“I tell the Syrian regime ‘there is still a chance to end the bloodshed’,” Mursi told Arab foreign ministers. ”Don’t take the right step at the wrong time… because that would be the wrong step,” he added.

He also told the ministers a resolution of the crisis is the responsibility of Arabs.”The Syrian blood that is being shed day and night, we are responsible for this. We cannot sleep while Syrian blood is being shed.”

Mursi’s remarks follow his speech at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in the capital of Iran, Tehran, where he called it an “ethical duty” to support the Syrian people against the “oppressive regime” in Damascus.

Mursi’s comments come as the Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group claims the conflict in Syria has left 26,000 people dead since it erupted more than 17 months ago.

Meanwhile, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi on Monday said the Egyptian leader was complicit in the armed conflict rocking his country. ”He is responsible for spilling Syrian blood, as are the Qataris, the Saudis and the Turks,” Zohbi said.

“We are sorry that the Arab League has descended to this level concerning a member state of this institution,” he said. “This decision only concerns the Syrian people, who are the sole masters of fate of their governments,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jihad Makdissi said at a media conference on Monday, according to AFP.

“If the Arab nations who met in Doha were honest about wanting to stop the bloodshed they would have stopped supplying arms… they would stop their instigation and propaganda,” he said. “All their statements are hypocritical.”

The Arab League on Monday called on Assad to swiftly give up his powers in order to end the fighting that has swept across the country. A day earlier, the Arab League also urged the rebel Free Syrian Army to form a transitional government of national unity.

“We call on the opposition and the Free Syrian Army to form a government of national unity,” Sheikh Hamad said as he delivered the results of the Arab League meeting.

Meanwhile, a statement by the Foreign Ministry on Monday stressed that Syria’s stance that any chemical or biological weapons will never ever be used during the crisis in Syria notwithstanding the developments inside the country.

A statement by the Ministry, read by spokesman Dr. Jihad Makdissi in a press conference, said that such weapons stocks are secured and directly monitored by the Syrian Armed Forces and would only be used in the case of external aggression on the country,

The statement came as Syrian troops commanded by the brother of President Bashar al-Assad and backed by helicopter gunships have driven rebel fighters out of a district of Damascus a week after the insurgents launched a major assault on the capital, Al Jazeera reported.

Clashes between government focres and rebels have intesified since rebels brought their battle to overthrow Assad to the capital and killed four of the president’s regime members in a bomb attack on a meeting of senior security officials last Wednesday.

“He is particularly worried about the recent shelling in Homs as well as reports of the use of mortar, helicopters and tanks in the town of Al-Haffa, Lattakia,” Mr. Annan’s spokesperson added in a news release. “There are indications that a large number of civilians are trapped in these towns.”

The spokesperson also said that Mr. Annan “demands that the parties take all steps to ensure that civilians are not harmed, and further demands that entry of the UN military observers be allowed to the town of Al-Haffa immediately.”

The UN estimates that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began some 15 months ago.

Military observers serving with the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) have been charged with monitoring the cessation of violence in Syria, as well as monitoring and supporting the full implementation of a six-point peace plan put forward by Joint Special Envoy Annan in March.

The plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue that takes into account the aspirations of the Syrian people, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.

Late last week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that, at the request of the Security Council, he will soon put forward a range of options for resolving the crisis in Syria. He noted that the six-point peace plan – which was endorsed by the Council – remains at the centre of efforts of resolve the crisis – but “at the same time, in view of the deteriorating situation, I would welcome further international discussions.”

The UN chief added that, along with Joint Special Envoy Annan and the League of Arab States’ Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby, he had seen little evidence of the Syrian Government complying with its commitments under the six-point peace plan, while at the same time, the opposition was hardening and turning increasingly to arms.

“Their mission is being obstructed by three factors: First, they are being stopped at Syrian Army checkpoints and in some cases turned back; second, some of our patrols are being stopped by civilians in the area; third, we are receiving information from residents of the area that the safety of our observers is at risk if we enter the village,” the head of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), Major-General Robert Mood, said in a statement.

“Despite these challenges, the observers are still working to get into the village to try to establish the facts on the ground,” he added.

According to media reports, Syrian activists claim that Government troops and militiamen massacred at least 78 villagers in Mazraat al-Qubeir, located near the city of Hama. UNSMIS dispatched observers to the site early Thursday.

The UN estimates that some 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began some 15 months ago.

In his statement, Major-General Mood also noted UNSMIS’ concern about the restriction imposed on its movement “as it will impede our ability to monitor, observe and report.”

The Security Council established UNSMIS in April to monitor the cessation of violence in Syria, as well as monitor and support the full implementation of a peace plan put forward by the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League for the Syrian Crisis, Kofi Annan.

The plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue that takes into account the aspirations of the Syrian people, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.

Later today, Annan will brief the General Assembly in person, followed by the Security Council and the media, on the latest developments in Syria. Also speaking in the Assembly meeting will be President of the General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Nabil Al Araby.

Nabil El Araby condemned the Houla massacre  blamed on Assad’s regime according to a letter leaked to media on Friday.

The Houla Massacre which the UN says has resulted in 108 dead people including 49 children has triggered widespread criticism and highlighted the failure of a UN backed ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the UN  Human Rights Council after a Special Session in Geneva on Friday afternoon, focused on the deteriorating human rights situation in Syria and the killings in Houla, it adopted a resolution – with 41 votes in favour, three against (Cuba, China, Russia) and two abstentions – condemning in the strongest terms the use of force against civilians and  has called for “a special inquiry” into the massacre in the Syrian village of Houla last weekend.

The meeting is the Council’s fourth special session on Syria since the crisis in the Middle Eastern country began some 15 months ago. The UN estimates that more than 9,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began.

The resolution was put forward by Qatar, Turkey and the US amid international outrage at the killing of 108 people, nearly half of them children, in Houla a week ago, Al Jazeera writes.

The 193-nation UN General Assembly is preparing to meet next Thursday to discuss the escalating crisis in Syria and the Houla massacre.

Syria’s delegation at the Human Rights Council has blamed “terrorists- armed gangs” of carrying out the killings It said its own investigation was under way.

The last developments came as Aleppo, Syria’s second city, saw on Friday its largest protests since the country’s 15-month uprising as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented 38 dead people yesterday.

“The Arab League will assign its Arab representatives in the U.N. Security Council in the meeting set to take place May 5 to ask the Security Council to protect Syrian civilians immediately,” the Arab League said in a final statement after a meeting in Cairo.

The Arab states were pushed to take action as the U.N. secretary general said 
was “gravely alarmed” by reports of shelling of populated areas in Syria, in a statement released after the death of scores of people in a massive explosion in the protest city of Hama.

The comments come as media reports quoted activists as saying that up to 70 people have been killed in an attack on a house in the city of Hama. Meanwhile, state media said 16 people died in the blast in a house used as a bomb factory by ‘armed terrorist groups.’

More than 9,000 people have died since a revolt erupted against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in March last year, the United Nations says, while activist groups put the figure at more than 11,100.

Under strong international pressure, Assad’s government has agreed a troop withdrawal from cities as part of a six-point peace plan for Syria agreed with U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

The latest violence takes place less than a week after the Security Council authorized the establishment of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), made up of up to 300 unarmed military observers and deployed for an initial period of 90 days,  to monitor the cessation of violence.

The observers are also tasked with monitoring and supporting the full implementation of a six-point peace plan, put forward by the Joint Special Envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria, Kofi Annan.

U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice said the Security Council must be ready to order sanctions if Syria flouts commitments to halt violence.

“We condemn what remains the government’s refusal to abide by its commitments, its continued intense use of heavy weaponry in Hama and elsewhere, which continues to result in large numbers of civilian deaths every day,” according to Al arabiya.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, France considered the prospect of military intervention if Annan’s peace plan fails.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the international community would have to push for a Chapter Seven resolution, which authorizes military force.

“I will be sending in a team this weekend to pursue the discussions and the proposals we left on the table, and at the appropriate time, when I deem sufficient progress has been made, I shall be prepared to go back to the region,” Mr. Annan told reporters in Geneva after briefing the Security Council in New York through video-link.

He said his immediate objectives are to try to stop the violence and human rights abuses and to make it possible for humanitarian assistance to be delivered to those who need it inside Syria. That should be followed by the “all-important issue of a political process that will lead to a democratic Syria fulfilling the aspirations of the Syrian people,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mr. Annan said he had received a response from the Syrian authorities on issues he raised when he visited the country last weekend and that he had sought further clarifications.

While in Damascus, the Syrian capital, he had urged President Bashar al-Assad to embrace change and reforms that will form the foundation for democracy in his country.

The UN estimates that more than 8,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising – part of the broader Arab Spring movement across North Africa and the Middle East – began in March last year.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday marked the first anniversary of the uprising by reiterating his call for an end to the bloodshed and a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

“It is urgent to break the cycle of violence, stop military operations against civilians and prevent a further militarization of the conflict in Syria. The status quo in Syria is indefensible,” said a statement issued by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson.

At today’s news conference, Mr. Annan also said he was encouraged by the Security Council’s strong support and determination to work together on the crisis.

“There have been some differences, but that is also normal, and I hope pretty soon you will be hearing one voice from the Council,” he said.

The 15-member Council has so far been unable to agree on collective action on Syria.