Arab-Islamic Summit  Calls for Prompt Cessation of Israel’s “Crimes” in Gaza

Arab and Muslim leaders called on Saturday for an immediate cessation of Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, announcing at a joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh that Israel is responsible for “crimes” against Palestinians.

Leaders including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the meeting.

The leaders delivered speeches at the summit, and they all condemned the Israeli army that has killed over 11,000 Gazans as Israeli airstrikes continue to level residential neighborhoods and bomb hospitals in Gaza City.

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said the kingdom emphasizes its “condemnation and categorical rejection of this barbaric war against our brothers in Palestine”. In an address to the summit, he said,“We are facing a humanitarian catastrophe that proves the failure of the Security Council and the international community to put an end to the flagrant Israeli violations of international laws.”

He affirmed that the only solution to achieve regional stability is to end the occupation and cease settlements. He added, “A Palestinian state must be established on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

President Raisi commended the Hamas fighters for their war against Israel, urging Islamic countries to impose oil and goods sanctions on Israel. In his address, he said, “There is no other way but to resist Israel. We kiss the hands of Hamas for its resistance against Israel.”

Raisi held the U.S. responsible for the massacres in Gaza, saying, “Undoubtedly, the U.S. government is the commander and the main accomplice of this crime.”

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim said his country is seeking to mediate the release of Israeli hostages and hopes a humanitarian truce would be reached soon. He condemned the lack of action by the international community to hold Israel accountable for crimes committed against civilians in Gaza. He said to the summit, “For how long will the international community treat Israel as if it is above international laws,” he said.

President Erdogan called for a permanent solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians. He said in his address, “What we need in Gaza is not pauses for a couple of hours. Rather, we need a permanent ceasefire.”

Egyptian President Abdulfatah El-Sisi denounced the forced displacement of the Palestinians, calling for an international investigation to be conducted into Israel’s violations against civilians in Gaza.

He stated, “The policies of collective punishment of the people of Gaza...are unacceptable and cannot be justified by self-defense or any other claims. They must be stopped immediately,” He warned that the continuation of the war in Gaza could result in its expansion to the entire region.

The Arab and Muslim leaders slammed Israel in the Riyadh-hosted summit. However, no practical measures have been agreed on to end Israeli aggression or lessen the ongoing human crisis.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United Nations Security Council to fulfil its responsibilities and put an immediate end to the brutal Israeli aggression. He denounced the Israeli airstrikes and ground offensive that left massive destruction and thousands of civilian casualties.

He also decried  the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians by the "cowardly Israeli war machine," rejecting any attempts to displace Palestinians from their lands in Gaza, the West Bank, and occupied Jerusalem.

 Abbas said the Palestinian Authority rejects all military solutions to the conflict, indicating that Israel's actions were undermining the two-state solution and replacing it with policies of intensified settlement, annexation, ethnic cleansing, and racial discrimination in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, said in his address to the summit that what is happening in Palestine today is an expected result given that all peace initiatives had been rejected by Israel, and the occupation has resorted to excessive force amidst the failure of the international community to play its moral, legal, and political role.

He added, "The facts that have been shaking the region for weeks confirm that Palestine is still and will remain the heart and essence of the Arab and Islamic conscience and the axis of its national security."