Arab, Islamic Action Intensifies to Implement Riyadh Summit Resolutions on Gaza

The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)
The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Arab, Islamic Action Intensifies to Implement Riyadh Summit Resolutions on Gaza

The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)
The leaders of Arab and Islamic countries during the Riyadh summit last week. (Egyptian Presidency)

The Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have been intensifying their efforts to implement the resolutions reached at their extraordinary Riyadh summit on Gaza last Saturday.

A ministerial Arab-Islamic committee is gearing up for meetings with the member states of the UN Security Council, urging for an immediate ceasefire.

The initiative is being led by Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Ambassador Hossam Zaki.

Zaki told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that “organizing meetings for the ministerial committee with the permanent members of the Security Council takes time due to the commitments and schedules of foreign officials, which somewhat hinders the implementation.”

“However, the ministerial committee, under the leadership of the Saudi presidency, is exerting every effort to secure the necessary appointments,” said Zaki, anticipating that “these meetings will take place soon.”

Meanwhile, the Palestinian delegate to the Arab League, Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk, confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “preparations are underway for the Arab-Islamic ministerial committee to hold meetings in influential capitals around the world with the aim of halting the Israeli aggression on Gaza.”

Moreover, an Arab diplomatic source informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “there are executive steps for the implementation of the Riyadh summit resolutions that will be announced soon, once the specific arrangements are finalized.”

The source, who requested anonymity, refused to disclose the “nature of these steps,” stating only that “they will be announced gradually.”

The resolution issued by the Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh tasked the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, Palestine, and the Secretary-Generals of the Arab League and the OIC, to initiate immediate international action on behalf of all member states to formulate international steps to stop the war on Gaza.



Lebanon: Berri Calls for ‘Comprehensive’ Dialogue to End Presidential Vacuum

FILED - 13 October 2022, Lebanon, Beirut: Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament, speaks at the start of a parliamentary session. Photo: Marwan Naamani/Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH/dpa
FILED - 13 October 2022, Lebanon, Beirut: Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament, speaks at the start of a parliamentary session. Photo: Marwan Naamani/Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH/dpa
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Lebanon: Berri Calls for ‘Comprehensive’ Dialogue to End Presidential Vacuum

FILED - 13 October 2022, Lebanon, Beirut: Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament, speaks at the start of a parliamentary session. Photo: Marwan Naamani/Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH/dpa
FILED - 13 October 2022, Lebanon, Beirut: Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament, speaks at the start of a parliamentary session. Photo: Marwan Naamani/Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH/dpa

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Monday that he looks forward to a comprehensive dialogue between the country’s lawmakers to elect a new president amid the exceptional circumstances the country is facing.
The Speaker said his recent call for a parliament session does not aim to “isolate or break” any party.
"We want to bring together the Lebanese people because there is a necessity for concerted efforts to save our country”, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Enough with divisions, we have no choice but dialogue or consultations. Within ten days, we can end the presidential vacuum by electing a president, which is a condition for restoring normalcy to our constitutional institutions”, he noted.
This “would fully prepare Lebanon to face the challenges ahead, mainly that the region prepares for political arrangements that require us to unify our vision so that solutions do not come at our expense”, Berri added.
He said a president must be chosen to lead the Lebanese delegation in negotiations should there be a decision to redraw a new political map for the Middle East region.
Consultations Without Conditions
Emphasizing the absence of any preconditions for holding the parliamentary consultations, he said: "If we agree on a consensus candidate, they will receive our full welcome. Otherwise, we will go to parliament with a list of several candidates from which MPs will elect the president in successive parliamentary sessions with multiple voting rounds, ensuring that a two-thirds majority of the parliament members are present for the election.”
This approach aims to put an end to the disruption of parliament sessions due to the inability to secure the required parliamentary quorum, he underscored.
On the ongoing confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel on the southern front, Berri said that it remains under control within the rules of engagement. He said Hezbollah responds to Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory by targeting Israeli military positions.
Hochstein Awaiting Calm in Gaza
As soon as a ceasefire is reached between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the US special envoy, Amos Hochstein, will take action in Lebanon, according to Berri.
The Speaker expects Hochstein to arrive in Lebanon at any moment to resume negotiations regarding an agreement to calm the situation in the south, based on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701.
Berri believes that Israel’s cessation of hostilities in South Lebanon could greatly impact the election of a new president in Lebanon.
We can then "immediately proceed to consultation or dialogue, and then we will elect the president within ten days”, he said.
Berri concluded saying that there is no harm in dialogue, stressing the need to “sit together instead of trading political campaigns. We will not find assistance from abroad unless we help ourselves..”
Lebanon remains essentially leaderless, without a president and headed by a caretaker government with limited powers amid deadlock between entrenched political barons.
The country has also faced nearly eight months of border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel that flared after the Israel-Hamas war began in October.