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.
