Middle East leaders slam Israel at Saudi-hosted summit
Published: 05:11 PM,Nov 11,2023 | EDITED : 09:11 PM,Nov 11,2023
General view of heads of states attending Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. — Reuters
RIYADH: Arab leaders and Iran’s president meeting on Saturday in the Saudi capital roundly condemned Israel’s actions in its war in Gaza.
The emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) comes after October 7 attacks that Israeli officials say left about 1,200 people dead, and 239 taken hostage.
Israel’s subsequent aerial and ground offensive has killed more than 11,000 people, also mostly civilians and many of them children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Host Saudi Arabia “confirms that it holds the occupation (Israeli) authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said as Saturday’s summit began.
“We are certain that the only way to guarantee security, peace and stability in the region is to end the occupation, siege and the settlements,” he said of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, on his first trip to Saudi Arabia, said Islamic countries should designate the Israeli army a “terrorist organisation” for its conduct in Gaza.
Some countries, including Algeria and Lebanon, proposed responding to the devastation in Gaza by threatening to disrupt oil supplies to Israel and its allies as well as severing the economic and diplomatic ties that some Arab League nations have with Israel, the diplomats said.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad said a lack of concrete punitive measures against Israel would render the summit toothless.
“If we do not have real tools for pressure, then any step we take or speech we give will have no meaning,” said Assad.
He said no Middle Eastern country should engage in any “political process” with Israel, including developing economic relations, until a lasting ceasefire is reached.
Israel and its main backer the United States have so far rebuffed demands for a ceasefire, a position that drew heavy criticism on Saturday.
“The US has prevented the ceasefire in Gaza and is expanding the scope of the war,” Raisi said before departing from Tehran.
Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the summit that “it is a shame that Western countries, which always talk about human rights and freedoms, remain silent in the face of the ongoing massacres in Palestine.”
— AFP
The emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) comes after October 7 attacks that Israeli officials say left about 1,200 people dead, and 239 taken hostage.
Israel’s subsequent aerial and ground offensive has killed more than 11,000 people, also mostly civilians and many of them children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Host Saudi Arabia “confirms that it holds the occupation (Israeli) authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said as Saturday’s summit began.
“We are certain that the only way to guarantee security, peace and stability in the region is to end the occupation, siege and the settlements,” he said of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, on his first trip to Saudi Arabia, said Islamic countries should designate the Israeli army a “terrorist organisation” for its conduct in Gaza.
Some countries, including Algeria and Lebanon, proposed responding to the devastation in Gaza by threatening to disrupt oil supplies to Israel and its allies as well as severing the economic and diplomatic ties that some Arab League nations have with Israel, the diplomats said.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad said a lack of concrete punitive measures against Israel would render the summit toothless.
“If we do not have real tools for pressure, then any step we take or speech we give will have no meaning,” said Assad.
He said no Middle Eastern country should engage in any “political process” with Israel, including developing economic relations, until a lasting ceasefire is reached.
Israel and its main backer the United States have so far rebuffed demands for a ceasefire, a position that drew heavy criticism on Saturday.
“The US has prevented the ceasefire in Gaza and is expanding the scope of the war,” Raisi said before departing from Tehran.
Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the summit that “it is a shame that Western countries, which always talk about human rights and freedoms, remain silent in the face of the ongoing massacres in Palestine.”
— AFP