Islamic-Arab summit calls for international peace conference

Arab and Islamic leaders gather for a group photo in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
An extraordinary summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the weekend discussed the situation in Gaza (image: WANA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)

Arab and Muslim leaders called on Saturday for an international peace conference, saying no peace can be achieved without securing the rights of the Palestinian people.

The final statement by the Arab-Islamic emergency summit, which was held in Riyadh earlier in the day, called for "the convening of an international peace conference, as soon as possible, through which a credible peace process will be launched on the basis of international law, international legitimacy resolutions and the principle of land for peace". 

The leaders called for an immediate halt of the "Israeli aggression" on Gaza. The communique rejected "any attempt at forced displacement from Gaza, the West Bank or Jerusalem". It emphasised that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and called on the Palestinian factions and forces to unite under its umbrella. 

The participants demanded all countries "stop exporting weapons and ammunition to the occupying authorities [Israel] that are used by their army and the terrorist settlers to kill the Palestinian people and destroy their homes, hospitals, schools, mosques and churches". 

They emphasised "the need to release all prisoners, detainees and civilians", without specifying which side they belong to. They also denounced double standards in the application of international law, calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation "into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in all the occupied Palestinian Territories". 

They added that a "just, lasting and comprehensive peace" is the only way to ensure stability and security for the entire region. Regional peace can only be achieved if the "Palestinian question" is taken into account in the search for a solution, and not when the rights of the Palestinian people are ignored. 

The two-state solution would have to be implemented, the final statement said. 

A special summit like the one on Saturday in the Saudi capital Riyadh is a rarity. A meeting of the 22 member states of the Arab League was originally planned for Saturday and one of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday. 

Following consultations between Saudi Arabia and the OIC, it was decided to hold a special joint summit instead. The OIC includes 57 Muslim states. 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an opening speech at the summit demanded "the immediate cessation of military operations and the provision of humanitarian corridors into Gaza". 

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was among the invited guests, a novelty because it was his first visit to the kingdom since the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia

In his speech, Raisi called on Islamic states, among other things, to break off their political and economic relations with Israel. "We are here to make a historic decision on one of the most important issues in the Islamic world and on one of the most brutal crimes against humanity," Raisi said. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Israelis of behaving like a "spoilt child", while calling for a permanent ceasefire and investigation into Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which he dubbed "unprecedented barbarism". 

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi blamed the international community, especially the UN Security Council, for failing to help the Palestinians. Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani called on the UN to investigate Israeli claims to justify attacking hospitals in Gaza. 

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad also spoke at the summit. He called for action in the Gaza war. "If we don't have real leverage, all our moves and speeches are meaningless," he said. He called for Arab unity to counter what he described as "Zionist cruelty and massacres". 

Assad himself had the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmouk in Damascus attacked and bombed as part of the civil war in Syria that has been ongoing since 2011. It was one of his first appearances at an international meeting since the civil war broke out. 

The leader of the Lebanese Pro-Iranian Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, called on the summit to lift the siege on Gaza. "Can't 57 Arab and Muslim countries open the Rafah border crossing?" he asked. 

Since 7 October, there have been exchanges of fire on the border between Israel and Lebanon almost every day, with fatalities on both sides. 

Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz firmly rejected criticism from Syria and Iran of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip. Assad had himself "slaughtered hundreds of thousands, children, women and old people of his own people," Katz wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday. 

Former Israeli foreign minister Katz wrote that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was also present at the special summit, "slaughters any Iranian who dares to protest against him, or any Iranian woman who, in his opinion, is not chaste enough". 

Katz also accused the participants of the conference in Riyadh of seeing the Palestinians as nothing more than "cannon fodder" in the fight against Israel. 

At the same time, many participants secretly prayed "that Israel will eliminate the radical Islamist terror that also threatens them". 

Israel will continue to fight until Hamas is defeated and the hostages are freed, wrote Katz.    (dpa)