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Arab FMs Condemn Turkish, Iranian Interventions… Adhere to Peace Initiative

Arab FMs Condemn Turkish, Iranian Interventions… Adhere to Peace Initiative
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Arab FMs Condemn Turkish, Iranian Interventions… Adhere to Peace Initiative

Arab FMs Condemn Turkish, Iranian Interventions… Adhere to Peace Initiative

The foreign ministers of the Arab League countries reiterated their commitment to the Peace Initiative and condemned the Turkish and Iranian interference in Arab affairs.

The ministers held a virtual session on Wednesday, during which they discussed extensively developments in the Palestinian file.

Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Husam Zaki said that talks on the developments of the Palestinian issue were comprehensive but the ministers did not reach a consensus over the draft resolution proposed by Palestine, related to the tripartite statement between the UAE, US, and Israel.

The Palestinian official news agency quoted Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki as saying during his address to the meeting that the UAE was going ahead with the normalization decision despite its violation of the Arab peace initiative and the decisions of the Arab summits. He called on the Arab League to issue a resolution rejecting this step.

For his part, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit stressed that the Palestinian issue would always remain a subject of Arab consensus. He added that the peace plan included in the Arab Peace Initiative and adopted by the Arab summit in 2002 was “the basic plan and the starting point” for achieving a lasting, just, and comprehensive peace between Arabs and Israel.

Aboul Gheit, however, emphasized “the sovereign right of every country to conduct its foreign policy in the way it deems fit.”

“It is an indisputable right, and this is something that this council respects and endorses,” he added.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry underlined “the need for a unified and resolute Arab policy to deter the Turkish regime, through more coordination between Arab countries.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez quoted Shoukry as saying that the “blatant” Turkish practices and interventions in many Arab countries represented the most important emerging threat to Arab national security.

According to the decisions issued at the end of the meeting, the Council of the Arab League agreed to “call on the member states to request the Turkish side not to interfere in Arab internal affairs and to stop provocative actions that undermine confidence-building and threaten the security and stability of the region.”

The Arab foreign ministers also called on Ankara to “withdraw all its forces from Arab territories.”

Qatar, Somalia, and Djibouti expressed their reservation about the decision on Turkey.

As for the Iranian interference, the Arab foreign ministers condemned in “the strongest terms the terrorist attacks on Aramco’s oil facilities with the use of Iranian-made weapons, and welcomed the United Nations report that held the Iranian regime responsible for these attacks.”

With regard to the Libyan crisis, Zaki said: “We are witnessing a greater and faster agreement between the parties and we have some cautious optimism over the Libyan file.”

“The new efforts may carry good news, and frankly the Libyan issue needs much effort,” he added.

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Israeli Probe into Killings of 15 Palestinian Medics in Gaza Finds ‘Professional Failures’

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israeli Probe into Killings of 15 Palestinian Medics in Gaza Finds ‘Professional Failures’

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)

An Israeli investigation into the killings of 15 Palestinian medics last month in Gaza by Israeli forces said Sunday it found “professional failures” and a deputy commander will be fired.

Israel at first claimed that the medics' vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire but later backtracked. Cellphone video recovered from one of the medics contradicted Israel’s initial account.

The military investigation found that the deputy battalion commander, “due to poor night visibility,” assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas fighters. Video footage obtained from the incident shows the ambulances had lights flashing and logos visible as they pulled up to help another ambulance that came under fire earlier. The teams do not appear to be acting unusually or in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and head toward it.

Their vehicles immediately come under a barrage of gunfire that goes on for more than five minutes with brief pauses.

Bodies were buried in a mass grave

Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a UN staffer were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by troops conducting operations in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the bodies.

The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has said the men were “targeted at close range.”

The Israeli military investigation said the examination found "no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting."

It said the Palestinians were killed due to an “operational misunderstanding” by Israeli forces, and that a separate incident 15 minutes later, when Israeli soldiers shot at a Palestinian UN vehicle, was a breach of orders.

The deputy commander who will be dismissed was the first to open fire and the rest of the soldiers also started shooting, the investigation said.

The findings asserted that six of those killed were Hamas members and said some of the others were originally misidentified as Hamas. Israel’s military initially said nine were militants. The Civil Defense is part of the Hamas-run government.

The investigation found that the decision to crush the ambulances was wrong but said there was no attempt to conceal the event. Maj. Gen Yoav Har-Even, in charge of the military’s investigative branch, said the bodies and vehicles were removed from the road because the military wanted to use it for an evacuation route later that day.

Har-Even said the military notified international organizations about the shooting that day and helped them locate the bodies.

The statement on the findings concluded by saying that Israel’s military “regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians.” The one survivor was detained for investigation and remains in custody for further questioning.

The investigation's findings have been turned over the Military Advocate General, which can decide whether to file charges. It is meant to be an independent body, with oversight by Israel’s attorney general and Supreme Court.

There are no outside investigations of the killings underway.

Israel has accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, arguing that justifies strikes on them. Medical personnel largely deny the accusations.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defense, most of them while on duty, as well as over 1,000 health workers during the war, according to the UN The Israeli military rarely investigates such incidents.

Israel disputes ICC accusations of war crimes

Palestinians and international human rights groups have repeatedly accused Israel’s military of failing to properly investigate or whitewashing misconduct by its troops.

Har-Even said the Israeli military is currently investigating 421 incidents during the war, with 51 concluded and sent to the Military Advocate General. There was no immediate information on the number of investigations involving potential wrongful deaths or how many times the MAG has pursued criminal charges.

The International Criminal Court, established by the international community as a court of last resort, has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant of war crimes. Israel, which is not a member of the court, has long asserted that its legal system is capable of investigating the army, and Netanyahu has accused the ICC of antisemitism.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, 24 of them believed to be alive.

Israel’s offensive has since killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. Around 90% of the population is displaced, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.

Frustration has been growing on both sides, with rare public protests against Hamas in Gaza and continued weekly rallies in Israel pressing the government to reach a deal to bring all hostages home.