Lebanon is to stay away from this year's Paris book fair in protest of Israel being named the guest of honor, Culture Minister Tarek Mitri announced on Wednesday.

"Lebanon will not participate this year in protest of the cultural event's organizers' decision to select Israel as guest of honor," Mitri said in a statement.

Lebanon is the first Arab government to announce a boycott of the March 14 to 19 event, after organizers announced that 39 Israeli writers were being invited to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Israel.

On Tuesday, the 50-nation Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISECSCO), called for a boycott of the event by Islamic states.

"The crimes against humanity that Israel is perpetrating in the Palestinian territories... constitute, in themselves, a strong condemnation of Israel, making it unworthy of being welcomed as a guest of honor at an international book fair," the group said.

Twenty-five Egyptian groups have announced that they will not take part, as has the Union of Algerian Writers.

In Sanaa, Yemen, the head of the state-run Public Book Authority, Dr Faris al-Saqqaf, said that Yemen would not be participating at the request of the Arab League.

Bahrain and Qatar said they did not normally take part.

-AFP/NOW Staff