Arab League: Establishing Palestinian State Is the Way to Peace
The Arab foreign ministers concluded their emergency meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, urging an immediate cessation of the Israeli war on Gaza as the Hamas-Israel conflict enters its fifth day.
A joint statement by the Arab foreign ministers called on all parties to exercise restraint, warning against the catastrophic humanitarian and security repercussions if the escalation continues to expand.
The expansion of the cycle of violence will affect the stability and security of the region, and everyone will pay the price, said the Arab League’s statement.
The Arab foreign ministers emphasized the necessity of lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip and immediately allowing the entry of aid, food and fuel. The statement described Israel's decision to prevent Gaza's population from getting water and gas as "unjust".
According to the statement, the way to ensure security and stability in the region is to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace that fulfills all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, especially their right to embody their independent and sovereign state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, to live in security and peace alongside Israel.
While the Arab leaders call for activating diplomacy to stop the bloodshed in Gaza, Israeli officials say Hamas began the war, and Israel will finish it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said negotiating with Hamas is off the table, and he threatened the price Hamas fighters will pay is beyond their imagination.
On Monday, Netanyahu said, "We have only started striking Hamas," he said. "What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations."
Over the three days, Gaza, home to over 2 million Palestinians, has been a horror city as Tel Aviv's airstrikes left neighborhoods destroyed, homes dark and hospitals low on medical supplies. Palestinian officials say more than 1,100 militants and citizens in Gaza have been killed and more than 5,000 wounded. The number of deaths in Israeli are 1200, according to reports.
