Beirut  - Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said Monday that Arabs should "unite in the face of terrorism" and proposed an Arab observatory to combat terrorism through constant monitoring of suspicious activities and financial transactions.

He said that the conference of Arab interior ministers Sunday in Beirut "was an indication of Arab trust in Lebanon."

"The Arab Summit in Doha later this month is a continuation of the bold and courageous decision to forge reconciliation, and this is the only means to develop such inter-Arab relations and push it forward," Suleiman said.

"Arab solidarity would help establish a unified Arab strategy that would force Israel to implement the Arab peace initiative that was adopted during the Arab Summit in Beirut in 2002."

Israel had "created the right conditions for terrorism to stain Arabs and Muslims and to justify its non-acknowledgment of the Palestinian state," Suleiman said.

Interior ministers from 18 Arab states took part in the conference, which called for setting up a bureau to fight organized crime.

Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said that the crime bureau would work against drug trafficking, immigrant smuggling and e-crime.

"There is a need to strengthen agreements at the level of anti- terrorism among Arab states," Baroud told the two-day conference, which opened Sunday in Beirut amid tight security. (dpa)