- KSA Crown Prince terms ‘Gaza humanitarian catastrophe’ failure of int’l community, UNSC
- Iran’s President dubs Palestine key to dignity of humanity, urging Islamic world to unite to sort out problem
- Turkiye, Qatar ask int’l community to act fast to end Palestinian crisis, stop Israeli aggression
RIYADH: The leaders of the Arab and Islamic countries in unanimous show of solidarity with the Palestinian people bracing the brutal onslaught of Israel’s aggression for the last five weeks in Gaza, on Saturday strongly condemned the ongoing killing of about 11,000 civilians, besides, calling for an immediate solution to the issue and end to the humanitarian crises.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is hosting a Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit, which brings together leaders from the Arab and Islamic world to discuss the current worsening situation in Gaza and the future strategy.
In his opening remarks, Crown Prince of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman demanded an immediate end to the Israeli military operations in Gaza. Terming the situation as ‘a humanitarian catastrophe’ he said that it showed the failure of the international community and the UN Security Council to put an end to Israel’s gross violations of global humanitarian laws.
Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit https://t.co/AdRUDldtzQ
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) November 11, 2023
The crown prince further called for an end to the Israeli occupation, illegal Israeli settlements and restoration of the rights of the Palestinian people, besides establishment of the state on the basis of 1967.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in his address, highlighted that besides targeting Gaza, Israeli forces were conducting raids in the occupied West Bank. He called for an end to “Israel’s aggression, the occupation, violation and desecration of the holy sites”.
Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit https://t.co/lmvouXgVjQ
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) November 11, 2023
President Abbas rejected any military and security solutions and said they categorically rejected any efforts to displace their people from Gaza or the West Bank. Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan Anwaarul Haq Kakar was among the other Muslim world leaders attending the summit.
In his address, Prime Minister Kakar suggested that the Arab and Islamic countries should explore the possibility of initiating proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for its war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Genocide Convention and under the interim measures request.
The UN Secretary General could be requested to establish a special commission of inquiry to investigate Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity since October 7, he proposed. The prime minister said that permanent solution to the conflict was in the establishment of a secure, viable, contiguous and sovereign state of Palestine on the basis of pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Shareef as its Capital and urged upon the Muslim countries to work towards that end.
In his speech to the Summit, OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said that the Arab-Islamic Summit was being held to confirm their solidarity with and unwavering support for the Palestinian people, and their joint commitment to the responsibilities for supporting the central cause, the Cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
He called for an immediate, durable, and comprehensive cessation of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, for opening humanitarian corridors to deliver aid and essential needs to the Gaza Strip in an adequate and sustainable manner; and for providing international protection for the Palestinian people.
He underlined his absolute rejection of plans for the forced displacement of Palestinians, indicating that a just, lasting, and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause required the establishment of the independent State of Palestine on the borders of June 4, 1967, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, based on international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, in his address, said that today, Palestine was the key to the dignity of the humanity as the worst crimes were being witnessed by the people in the history of the world. He stressed that entire Islamic world should be united to sort out the problem, adding that the OIC should play an important role in forging unity among the Muslim countries.
The Iranian president said the Zionist regime was on carnage and destruction drive in Gaza which was nothing but “brutality’ and mockery of the international laws. The Gaza had been the biggest prison in the world. All kind of banned arsenal and weapons were being used against Gazans which resulted in deaths of 11,000 defenceless civilians in the five weeks of Israeli barbaric aggression, he added.
President Raisi called for an end to the killing of civilians and opening of humanitarian corridor. President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi denounced the collective punishment of civilians by killings, laying siege and forcible displacement of the Palestinians which he said were unacceptable. “This cannot be interpreted as self-defence and must be stopped immediately,” he added.
President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in their remarks, urged the international community to immediately act to end the Palestinian crises and stop Israel from continuing with its aggression. President Erdogan called for holding of an international peace conference to find out a permanent solution to the conflict.
Israel launched relentless and indiscriminate air and ground assaults on the Gaza Strip including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship after October 7. According to official figures, so far at least 11,078 Palestinians had been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women.
