Riyadh summit: Arab, Muslim leaders denounce Israel war on Gaza at
RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Arab and Muslim leaders on Riyadh condemned Israel’s actions in its war on Gaza.
New Arab reports the emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) came amid Israel’s devastating bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 11,078 people, including 4,506 children and over 3,000 women.
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, the Gulf kingdom’s de facto ruler, 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 war on 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 armed group for the high death toll, accusing it of using civilians as “human shields,” a charge Hamas denies.
Regional divisions
The Arab League and the OIC, a 57-member bloc that includes Iran, were originally meant to meet in separate summits.
Reports emerged that the decision to merge the meetings came after Arab League delegations failed to reach an agreement on a final statement.
Some countries 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, according to a report.
However, at least four countries – including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, who normalised ties with Israel in 2020 – rejected the proposal.
Israel and its main backer the United States have so far rebuffed demands for a ceasefire, a position that drew heavy criticism on Saturday.
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.
The roster of attendees on Saturday also included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who called for “deterrent steps to stop the ongoing war crime” in Gaza, without going into detail.
The summit comes as international pressure on Israel to announce a ceasefire increases, with French President Emmanuel Macron being the latest Western leader to urge such a ceasefire.