At the Arab League summit in Riyadh, Arab leaders and Iran’s President Raisi gathered to emphasize the necessity of halting the conflict in Gaza before it escalates to involve additional countries in the Israel-Hamas war.
Arab leaders and Iran’s President gathered in the Saudi capital Saturday for a summit meeting expected to underscore demands that fighting in Gaza end before the Israel-Hamas war draws in other countries.
The emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) comes after the Hamas October 7 attacks. The Arab League and the OIC were originally meant to meet separately.
Arab diplomats told AFP the decision to merge the meetings came after Arab League delegations had 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 normalized ties with Israel in 2020, rejected the proposal, according to the diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Proceeding to the meeting, Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said it did not “expect anything” to come out of it, criticizing Arab leaders for the delay.
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 the summit began on Saturday.
“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.
Israel and its main backer the United States have so far rebuffed demands for a ceasefire, a position that was expected to draw heavy criticism on Saturday.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called Saturday on Islamic governments to designate Israel’s military a “terrorist organization”, citing its current operations in the Gaza Strip.
“The US has prevented the ceasefire in Gaza and is expanding the scope of the war,” he said before departing from Tehran.
Speaking at a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Raisi also urged nations that have ties with Israel to sever them and called for greater support for Palestinians.
Raisi is the first Iranian president to visit Saudi Arabia since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended an OIC meeting in the kingdom in 2012.
Gabriela De La Cruz, with AFP
