An Arab-Islamic summit hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday called for an end to the conflict in Gaza and rejected justifying Israel’s actions against Palestinians as self-defence.
The summit condemned “Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, war crimes and barbaric and inhumane massacres by the occupation government”, a final communique said.
The communique also called for an end to the siege on Gaza, allowing humanitarian aid into the enclave and halting arms exports to Israel.
Host Saudi Arabia “confirms that it holds the occupation (Israeli) authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said as Saturday’s summit began.
“We are certain that the only way to guarantee security, peace and stability in the region is to end the occupation, siege and the settlements,” he said of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, on his first trip to Saudi Arabia since the two countries mended ties in March, said Islamic countries should designate the Israeli army a “terrorist organisation” for its conduct in Gaza.
Israel says it is out to destroy Hamas and blames the Palestinian group for the high death toll, accusing it of using civilians as “human shields” — a charge Hamas denies.
Arab diplomats told AFP that the decision to merge the meetings came after Arab League delegations failed to reach an agreement on a final statement.
Some countries, including Algeria and Lebanon, proposed responding to the devastation in Gaza by threatening to disrupt oil supplies to Israel and its allies as well as severing the economic and diplomatic ties that some Arab League nations have with Israel, the diplomats said. However, at least three countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020, rejected the proposal, according to the diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said a lack of concrete punitive measures against Israel would render the summit toothless.
“If we do not have real tools for pressure, then any step we take or speech we give will have no meaning,” said Assad, who was welcomed back into the Arab fold this year after an extended rift over his country’s civil war.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the summit that “it is a shame that Western countries, which always talk about human rights and freedoms, remain silent in the face of the ongoing massacres in Palestine.”
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said Washington had “the greatest influence on Israel” and “bears responsibility for the absence of a political solution” to the conflict. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians are facing a “genocidal war” and called on the United States to end Israeli “aggression”.
Addressing the meeting, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Saturday strongly condemned incessant and brutal Israeli aggression and the inhumane blockade of Gaza that has resulted in death, destruction and displacement.
PM Kakar stressed that the Israeli occupation forces were in clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, and their indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity. He called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.
Prime Minister Kakar underscored the urgency of bringing an end to Israel’s campaign of terror with an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, lifting of the siege of Gaza, and rapid and unhindered humanitarian and relief assistance for the people of Gaza.
The premier underlined that the root cause of the current situation was the perennial settler colonialism and denial of the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s solidarity and support for the Palestinian people and for their right to self-determination.
Meanwhile, PM Kakar also met Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the sidelines of Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit to discuss the latest situation caused by the aggression of the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians both in Gaza and West Bank.
According to a PMO statement, Prime Minister Kakar appreciated the role and efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the sagacious leadership of Prince Mohammed, for promoting the Palestinian cause.—Agencies
