The League of Arab States is taking practical moves to implement the decisions issued by the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit, hosted by Riyadh, on Saturday.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Jamal Rushdi, spokesman for the Arab League’s Secretary-General, confirmed that the decisions taken at the summit constitute “an action plan that the General Secretariat of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will put into immediate effect.”
Rushdi stressed that work was underway to implement the decisions, whether through the relevant agencies in the General Secretariat, or in coordination with Arab ambassadors abroad.
He pointed to moves aimed at monitoring Israeli crimes and legally documenting war crimes committed by the Israeli forces in the Palestinian territories.
The Arab-Islamic summit had issued a resolution to “break the siege on Gaza, and impose the immediate entry of Arab, Islamic, and international humanitarian aid convoys, including food, medicine, and fuel, into the Strip, and to invite international organizations to participate in this process.”
The summit resolution also included a request to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to initiate an immediate investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in all the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem.
Barakat Al-Farra, the former Palestinian ambassador to Egypt, stressed that implementing many of the decisions requires coordination with influential countries on the international arena, most notably the United States, to pressure Israel.
Al-Farra told Asharq Al-Awsat that a decision such as breaking the siege and allowing the entry of aid into Gaza cannot be achieved except through coordination with the United States. He noted that Israel “will not hesitate to bomb any trucks or aid entering the territory of the Gaza Strip without prior coordination.”
The Palestinian diplomat added that the Arab and Islamic group possesses many pressure cards that can be used to influence Israel. He emphasized that many of these countries have political and economic relations with Tel Aviv, which can be used to push the occupation authorities to stop committing genocide against the Palestinian people.
Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud Mahran, professor of international law and lecturer at Alexandria University, said obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid was a blatant violation by Israel of its obligations under international humanitarian law.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Mahran said Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention stipulates the right to deliver humanitarian aid without obstacles to civilians in the occupied territories, and Article 59 of the same convention obligates the occupying authority to allow the passage of all relief shipments.
Regarding the possibility of “imposing the entry of aid,” he said in normal circumstances, this can be achieved by resorting to the UN Security Council to issue a resolution obligating Israel to allow the entry of aid without conditions or restrictions, through states and humanitarian organizations.”
He continued: “Unfortunately, the Security Council has repeatedly been unable to make any decisions related to the situation in Gaza,” pointing to how the US used its veto power to scuttle any resolutions against Israel.
