The emergency Arab-Islamic summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Saturday witnessed a condemnation of the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians, a call for an immediate ceasefire, and a warning against “the expansion of military confrontations in the region.”
On Saturday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called for an immediate halt to “military operations in the Gaza Strip.”
This came in an opening speech at the emergency joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, according to what was broadcast by the Saudi Al-Ikhbariya channel.
The summit coincides with the continuation of the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip for the thirty-sixth day, and leaders, leaders and representatives of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries participated, in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Saudi Crown Prince said that the holding of this summit comes under exceptional and painful circumstances, and "we renew our rejection of this brutal war, to which the Palestinian brothers are exposed."
He pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had made unremitting efforts since the beginning of the events in Gaza, and continued consultation and coordination to stop the war, reiterating the demand for an immediate cessation of military operations and calling for the release of detained hostages and the preservation of lives.
He continued: "We are facing a humanitarian catastrophe that testifies to the failure of the Security Council and the international community to put an end to Israeli violations, which demonstrates double standards."
He stressed that the Kingdom affirms its categorical rejection of the continued aggression and forced displacement of the population of Gaza, holding the occupation authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
The Saudi Crown Prince continued: “We are certain that the only way to achieve security, peace and stability in the region is to end the occupation, siege and settlement and for the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights and establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
On Friday and Saturday night, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement that a joint Arab-Islamic summit would be held on Saturday, regarding developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip, instead of two summits, after Arab and Islamic consultation.
For his part, King Abdullah II of Jordan stressed during his speech at the summit that Gaza was being exposed to an ugly war, stressing that the world would pay the price of “failure” to resolve the Palestinian issue.
He said: "We gather today for the sake of Gaza and its people, as they are being killed and destroyed in a hideous war that must stop immediately. Otherwise, our region may reach a major clash, the price of which will be paid by innocent people on both sides, and whose consequences will affect the entire world."
He pointed out that this injustice did not begin a month ago, but rather is an extension of more than seven decades in which the citadel mentality, isolation walls, and attacks on sanctities and rights prevailed, and the majority of its victims were innocent civilians.
He added: "It is the same mentality that wants to turn Gaza into an unlivable place. It targets mosques, churches, and hospitals, and kills doctors, rescue and relief teams, and even children, the elderly, and women."
The King of Jordan stated that the injustice inflicted on our Palestinian brothers is evidence of the failure of the international community to do justice to them and guarantee their rights to dignity, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He said: “We cannot remain silent about the catastrophic conditions facing the Gaza Strip that are suffocating life and preventing access to treatment... Rather, the humanitarian corridors must remain sustainable and safe, and it is not acceptable to deny food, medicine, water and electricity to the people of Gaza, as this behavior is a war crime that must be condemned.” the world".
He stressed that Jordan will continue to perform its duty in sending humanitarian aid to the Palestinian brothers by all possible means, pointing out that the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution on Gaza was a victory for human values and a bias towards the right to life and peace, and a global consensus to reject war, a decision that came from a joint Arab effort.
On the twenty-seventh of last month, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a draft resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza, based on a draft resolution submitted by Jordan.
Abbas: Israel has begun a war of extermination
In turn, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that Israel had begun an “unparalleled war of extermination” against the Palestinian people, and had “crossed all red lines.”
He added during his speech at the summit: “My mind cannot comprehend the destruction of hospitals and schools in the Gaza Strip, and my mind cannot believe that this is happening before the eyes of the world without an immediate end to the brutal war.”
He held Israel and those who support and protect it fully responsible for the killing and wounding of every child, woman and Palestinian, pledging to "hold them accountable and punish them in international court, even if they go to the end of the world."
The Palestinian President also held the United States, “which has the greatest influence in Israel,” responsible for the absence of a political solution.
Abbas called on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities to stop the aggression immediately, ensure the entry of medical and food supplies, provide water, electricity and fuel into the Gaza Strip, and prevent the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
He said: "We will not accept military and security solutions, after all of them have failed, and after the occupation authorities undermined the two-state solution, and replaced it with deepening settlement, annexation policies, ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the siege of the Gaza Strip, and the violation of the historical and legal status of the holy sites."
He stressed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and the political solution must include the entire territory of the State of Palestine, including the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza, rejecting “Israeli piracy of our money that we send monthly to the Gaza Strip, which we have not abandoned for a single day.”
Abbas said that Israeli crimes crossed red lines by killing and wounding more than 40,000 Palestinians.
Warning of expanding military confrontations in the region
As for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, he warned against stopping the war in the Gaza Strip, stressing that “failure to stop the war in Gaza threatens the expansion of military confrontations in the region.”
Al-Sisi said that the summit comes in exceptional circumstances in which time is passing for the Palestinian people, who are being killed and besieged, and are suffering from inhumane practices that “take us back to the Middle Ages, and require a serious stance from the international community.”
He pointed out that Egypt has repeatedly warned against the consequences of unilateral policies, and is now warning that failure to stop the war in Gaza threatens the expansion of military confrontations in the region.
He stressed that no matter the attempts at restraint, the long duration of the attacks and their unprecedented cruelty are enough to change the equation and its calculations overnight.
The Egyptian President explained, "Just as time passes with difficulty for Palestine and its people... it passes for us, and for all peoples with free consciences, painful and sad, revealing the evils of double standards, the imbalance of sound logic, and the inconsistency of humanitarian claims that fall resoundingly in this revealing test."
He explained that Egypt condemned from the beginning the targeting, killing and intimidation of all civilians on both sides and all acts contrary to international law and international humanitarian law.
He reaffirmed “this clear condemnation,” while stressing at the same time that the policies of collective punishment of the people of Gaza, including killing, siege, and forced displacement, are unacceptable and cannot be justified by self-defense or any other claims, “and must be stopped immediately.”
The Egyptian President called for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip without restrictions or conditions, and the need to stop practices that target the forced displacement of Palestinians to any place inside or outside their land.
Raisi calls for “arming the Palestinians”
For his part, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi called on Islamic countries to classify the Israeli army as a “terrorist organization” against the backdrop of its armed operation in the Gaza Strip.
Raisi also called on Islamic countries, in a speech to Arab and Muslim leaders gathered in Riyadh, to “arm the Palestinians” if “attacks continue” in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
For 36 days, the Israeli army has been waging an air, land and sea war on Gaza, “during which it destroyed residential neighborhoods on top of their residents,” killing 11,078 Palestinians, including 4,506 children, 3,027 women, and 678 elderly people, and wounding 27,490 with various injuries, according to official sources, as of Friday evening.