Palestine Officially Demands Urgent Arab League Summit over Israeli Aggression

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Palestine Officially Demands Urgent Arab League Summit over Israeli Aggression

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Palestine’s Permanent Representative at the Arab League Mohammed al-Aklouk requested an extraordinary Arab summit on the Israeli aggression against Palestinians, at the invitation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Aklouk said, in a statement published by Wafa, that Palestine’s request comes after coordination with Saudi Arabia in its capacity as the chair of the current 32nd session of the Arab Summit.

The Ambassador indicated that Palestine requested the summit to discuss the “brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people” in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Palestine called for the summit to address ways to help the state and people of Palestine confront the political, humanitarian, economic, and social challenges.

The summit also aims to discuss Arab action at the international level to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, under international law, the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

The Assistant Sec-Gen of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Palestine, Saudi Arabia who is residing at the summit, and other countries are holding ongoing consultations in preparation for the emergency meeting to discuss ways to stop the war in Gaza.

The Palestinian President called on the Arab leaders to convene an emergency summit to stop the brutal aggression against the Palestinian people and their cause.

Zaki indicated that the emergency summit is as good as done, adding that under the current circumstances, it is almost sure that two-thirds of the members will agree to hold an emergency summit either in Egypt or Saudi Arabia.

Last May, the Kingdom hosted the 32nd regular session of the Arab League at the summit level.

The Arab League held an emergency meeting at the level of foreign ministers on Oct. 11 in Cairo to discuss the situation in Gaza, which concluded with a call for urgent international action to stop the war in Gaza.

The meeting condemned the targeting of civilians and warned against attempts to displace the Palestinian people.



Arab Foreign Ministers Call for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani attends the opening session of the Rome Med 2024, Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome, Italy, 25 November 2024. (EPA)
Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani attends the opening session of the Rome Med 2024, Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome, Italy, 25 November 2024. (EPA)
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Arab Foreign Ministers Call for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani attends the opening session of the Rome Med 2024, Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome, Italy, 25 November 2024. (EPA)
Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani attends the opening session of the Rome Med 2024, Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome, Italy, 25 November 2024. (EPA)

Several Arab foreign ministers, gathering in Rome on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meeting, are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and the provision of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

The ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, and the secretary general of the League of Arab States, all participated in a Rome conference before joining G7 foreign minsters later in the day in nearby Fiuggi.

“Gaza is now a graveyard for children, a graveyard for human values, a graveyard for international law,” said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

The Mideast conflict was the top agenda item Monday for the G7, amid reported progress on a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel’s ambassador to the US said a deal could be reached within days.

“We all hope and pray that this ceasefire will be realized because the absence of it will mean more destruction, and more and more animosity, and more dehumanization, and more hatred, and more bitterness which will doom the future of the region to more conflict and more killing and more destruction,” Safadi said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reaffirmed that Cairo would host a ministerial-level conference next Monday on mobilizing international aid for Gaza.

In remarks to the “Mediterranean Dialogues” conference, he called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, the release of hostages, provision of humanitarian aid for Palestinians and the initiation of “a serious and genuine political process” to create a Palestinian state.