Arab League Demands a Halt to Weapons Exports to Israel

A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arab League Demands a Halt to Weapons Exports to Israel

A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Arab League has demanded a halt to arms export to Israel, saying that countries that continue to provide Tel Aviv with weapons are complicit in killing Palestinians and destroying their homes and infrastructure.

The Arab League opened an emergency meeting in Cairo on Monday to discuss Israel's deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip. The meeting was chaired by Morocco and held at the level of permanent representatives at Palestine's request.

The League formed an ad hoc committee of the permanent representatives and General Secretariat to examine possible Arab measures that could be undertaken at the legal, economic, political, and diplomatic levels to activate and implement the resolution.

The meeting issued a 26-item resolution, during which it condemned the ongoing Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip and the systematic destruction of infrastructure, describing what Tel Aviv is doing as "a crime of genocide."

The resolution called on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities to preserve international security and peace.

It called on the Security Council to adopt a binding decision to stop the widespread and systematic Israeli crimes that threaten regional and international peace and security.

During the meeting, the Palestinian representative, Ambassador Mohannad al-Aklouk, referred to the joint extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh on Nov. 11 and its call for taking political, diplomatic, economic, and legal action to force Israel to stop its aggression against Palestinians.

Aklouk called for "more diplomatic and political measures and activating economic and legal tools."

In turn, Jordan's representative, Ambassador Amjad al-Adaileh, said the Israeli extremist government's expansionist intentions and displacement agendas in occupied Palestine have never been clearer and more arrogant than they are today.

Adaileh asserted that it has become clear that the most extremist and racist government in the history of the occupation is racing against time to implement its agendas.

The diplomat said that since Oct. 7, Israel has been seeking to consolidate the occupation and eliminate the remaining chances of achieving peace based on the two-state solution, placing the Palestinian people before two options that have no third choice: either death or displacement.

The Arab League resolution accused the US of following a double standards policy, saying it should adopt stances that are consistent with international and humanitarian law by calling for a full and sustainable ceasefire.

The resolution warned of the danger of forced displacement of about two million Palestinians in Gaza, cautioning against Tel Aviv's intentions to complete their displacement outside the Palestinian territories by systematically pushing them towards the Egyptian border.

"The Arab countries cannot tolerate the recurrence of the Nakba scenario of 1948 and will adopt all legal, diplomatic and economic steps to prevent displacement of the Palestinian people," according to the resolution.

The resolution recalled the UN Security Council Resolution 2720 (2023) calling for immediate unhindered aid delivery on a safe and large scale across Gaza.

Egypt's Permanent Representative, Ambassador Mohamed Arfi, said that the massacre against Palestinian people constitutes compelling evidence of double standards and global shame and stressed that Cairo continues to support Palestinian rights.

The League's Council denounced the deadly Israeli attacks on Palestinian refugee camps and homes in the West Bank, the detention of thousands of Palestinians daily, and the attacks and intimidation perpetrated by Jewish settlers against Palestinians under Israeli police protection.

The Council also condemned the 100+ day siege of the Israeli occupation authorities on the al-Aqsa Mosque, which undermined the freedom of worship, as well as the repeated incursions into and desecration of the site by Jewish settlers.

The Assistant Secretary-General and President of the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector, Saeed Abu Ali, confirmed in his speech that the Palestinians are being subjected to systematic attacks against all international laws and divine laws.

Abu Ali underscored the need to redouble efforts and take necessary measures to halt the ongoing crime and bring an end to the genocide war.

The League lauded the efforts of South Africa to prosecute the Israeli occupation entity at the International Court of Justice for violating its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG).

It called on the peace-loving, law-abiding countries to back the legal steps initiated by South Africa, welcoming the decision of the Libyan Presidential Council to join the genocide case against Israel.

The Council renewed condemnation of the Israeli aggression on Syria and Lebanon, including the latest attack in Damascus on Saturday.

It warned that such attacks undermine the sovereignty of Syria and pose a serious threat to regional and international security.

The Council stressed that the only way to regional stability is through recognition of the Palestinians' legitimate and inalienable rights, notably the right to establish an independent, fully sovereign, and viable state within the pre-June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital city.

It praised the Qatari-Egyptian mediation efforts aiming to reach a durable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and deliver aid to the residents in Gaza.

The League also appreciated the call of Algeria, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, to hold an emergency session by the Council to discuss the Israeli plans for the forcible evacuation of the Gazans.

It appreciated the UAE's successful lobbying during its term as a non-permanent member of the Council (2022-2023) for the Palestinian question, which led to the adoption of the Council resolutions 2712 and 2720 last year.



UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
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UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)

A major offensive in the occupied West Bank which over several weeks has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged refugee camps increasingly appears to be part of Israel's "vision of annexation", a UN official told AFP.

Israeli forces carry out regular raids targeting gunmen in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, but the ongoing operation since late January is already the longest in two decades, with dire effects on Palestinians.

"It's an unprecedented situation, both from a humanitarian and wider political perspective," said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

"We talk about 40,000 people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes" in the northern West Bank, mainly from three refugee camps where the operation had begun, said Friedrich.

"These camps are now largely empty," their residents unable to return and struggling to find shelter elsewhere, he said.

Inside the camps, the level of destruction to "electricity, sewage and water, but also private houses" was "very concerning", Friedrich added.

The Israeli operation, which the military says targets gunmen in the northern West Bank, was launched shortly after a truce took hold in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.

The operation initially focused on Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, where UNRWA operates, but has since expanded to more areas of the West Bank's north.

Friedrich warned that as the offensive drags on, there are increasing signs -- some backed by official Israeli statements -- that it could morph into permanent military presence in Palestinian cities.

"There are growing concerns that the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank," he said.

- 'Political operation' -

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said troops would remain for many months in the evacuated camps to "prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism".

And Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who lives in one of dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, has said that Israel would be "applying sovereignty" over parts of the territory in 2025.

According to Friedrich, "the statements we are hearing indicate that this is a political operation. It is clearly being said that people will not be allowed to return."

Last year the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel's prolonged presence in the West Bank was unlawful.

Away from home, the displaced Palestinian residents also grapple with a worsening financial burden.

"There is an increasing demand now, especially in Jenin, for public shelter, because people can't pay these amounts for rent anymore," said Friedrich.

"Everyone wants to go back to the camps."

The UN official provided examples he said pointed to plans for long-term Israeli presence inside Palestinian cities, which should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

"In Tulkarem you have more and more reports about the army just walking around... asking shop owners to keep the shops open, going out and issuing traffic tickets to cars, so almost as if there is no Palestinian Authority," said Friedrich.

"It is very worrying, including for the future of the PA as such and the investments made by the international community into building Palestinian institutions."

The Ramallah-based PA was created in the 1990s as a temporary government that would pave the way to a future sovereign state.

- 'Radicalization' -

UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, but a recent law bars the agency from working with the Israeli authorities, hindering its badly needed operations.

"It's much more complicated for us now because we can't speak directly to the military anymore," said Friedrich.

"But at the same time, we continue to do our work," he said, assessing needs and coordinating "the actual emergency response on the ground".

Israeli lawmakers had passed the legislation against UNRWA's work over accusations that it had provided cover for Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip -- claims the UN and many donor governments dispute.

The prolonged Israeli operation could have long-term consequences for residents, particularly children traumatized by the experience of displacement, Friedrich warned.

"If people can't go back to the camp and we can't reopen the schools... clearly, that will lead to more radicalization going forward."

He said the situation could compound a legitimacy crisis for the PA, often criticized by armed Palestinian factions for coordinating security matters with Israel.

Displaced Palestinians "feel that they are kicked out of their homes and that nobody is supporting them", said Friedrich.

A "stronger international response" was needed, he added, "both to provide humanitarian aid on the ground, and secondly, to ensure that the situation in the West Bank doesn't spin out of control".