Arab foreign ministers have called for urgent international action to stop the war on the Gaza Strip.
At the conclusion of an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo on Wednesday, the ministers condemned the targeting of civilians on both sides and warned against attempts to displace the Palestinian people.
Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Hossam Zaki announced at the end of the extraordinary session the adoption of a resolution, which calls for the immediate cessation of the war on Gaza, and urges everyone to exercise self-restraint.
The resolution warned of the catastrophic humanitarian and security repercussions of the current escalation and underlined the need to work with the international community to launch an urgent and compelling effort to prevent an expansion of violence in the region.
It condemned the targeting of civilians on both sides and all acts that the Palestinian people were subjected to.
The ministers emphasized the need to lift the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and immediately provide Gazans with humanitarian aid, food, and fuel.
The Arab Ministerial Council expressed its support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and warned against any attempts to displace them.
"The way to guarantee security and stability in the region is to achieve just, permanent, and comprehensive peace that meets all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people," the Arab foreign ministers underlined.
The Arab League held the emergency meeting at the level of foreign ministers in response to the request of Palestine and Morocco to discuss the developments in Gaza.
The Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, called for an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza.
In his opening remarks, Aboul Gheit warned of the expansion of confrontations into something more dangerous, which endangers regional stability.
He said the Arab foreign ministers were meeting under challenging circumstances, and “the ongoing escalation between Hamas and the Israelis is unprecedented in its severity and effects."
He added that the dangerous moment requires everyone to exercise the utmost self-restraint and consider the consequences, stressing that the retaliatory operations practiced and prepared by the Israeli occupation forces will not bring stability but rather more violence and blood.
Aboul Gheit also strongly condemned Israel's relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the surprise deadly incursion by militants into Israel last weekend but used equally strong language to renounce violence against civilians.
"I reject completely and outright any violence against civilians," he told the ministers, adding: "We show our solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza because they face a massacre that must be stopped and condemned immediately."
The Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, said at the meeting that the recent escalation cannot be separated from the ongoing systematic violations and unjust unilateral measures in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territory.
In his speech, Bourita expressed his concern about targeting civilians by any party, emphasizing the necessity of providing them with complete protection under international humanitarian law so that they are not targets of the conflict.
Bourita called for exerting every effort to achieve stability and stop bloodshed through collective or individual action by the active international forces to prevent the escalation.
He called for assessing the urgent health and humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip and strengthening the Palestinian negotiating position.
In turn, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki called for an immediate halt to the war and aggression and to secure the entry of basic needs into the Gaza Strip immediately.
Maliki criticized some countries' decision to stop aid to Palestine, advocating for the revival of the peace process through a genuine political negotiation between the two sides, saying negotiation is the right way to attain security, stability, and prosperity in the region.
