Saudi Gazette report

CAIRO — A meeting of the members of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee and a senior official of the European Union condemned the resumption of hostilities and the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. In a statement issued at the end of the meeting of the members of the Ministerial committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit on developments in the Gaza Strip and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, they called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The meeting expressed its grave concern over the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza and the large number of civilian casualties in recent airstrikes.

The meeting called for an immediate return to the full implementation of the ceasefire-hostage and detainees release agreement, brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, and that went into effect on January 19. The meeting stressed the need for progress towards its second phase of the ceasefire with a view to its full implementation, including the release of all hostages, a permanent end to hostilities, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2735.

They called for the complete respect of international humanitarian law and international law. They underscored that this includes ensuring swift, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access and the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip. In light of this, they demanded the lifting of all restrictions that hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid, as well as the immediate restoration of all basic services in the Strip, including the supply of electricity and water desalination plants.

The meeting welcomed the Arab Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, presented at the Arab Summit in Cairo on March 4, subsequently adopted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and welcomed by the European Council. The parties highlighted that the aforementioned plan ensures that the Palestinian people will remain on their territory and emphasized in this regard their categorical rejection of any displacement or expulsion of the Palestinian people out of their territory, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and warned against the grave repercussions that would result from such actions.

They underscored in this regard the importance of supporting the Conference on the Early Recovery and Reconstruction of Gaza, which is to be held in Cairo with the participation of relevant stakeholders. The participants called on the international community to work to mobilize resources, to be announced during the Conference, to address the catastrophic situation in Gaza.

The meeting stressed the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority (PA) and of supporting in this regard the PA in assuming all of its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip, and ensuring it can effectively uphold its role in administering both Gaza and the West Bank. They emphasized the need for respect and the preservation of the territorial integrity and unity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is key to consolidating the Palestinian state on the basis of the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regards to Jerusalem, in line with UN resolutions, and as part of the two-state solution, thus achieving long-term peace and stability in the region. They reiterated in this regard that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 and reiterated the vision of the two-state solution, with the Gaza Strip as part of the Palestinian state, in line with International Law, including relevant Security Council resolutions and stressed that this should guide any discussion on the future of the Gaza Strip.

The parties expressed as well their deep concern over the Israeli military incursions in the occupied West Bank, as well as illegal practices such as settlement activities, home demolitions, and settler violence, which undermine the rights of the Palestinian people, threaten the prospects for a just and lasting peace and further entrench the conflict.

The participants recalled that Israel, as an occupying power, must protect civilians and comply with international humanitarian law. They firmly rejected any attempts at annexation and unilateral measures that seek to alter the legal and historical status quo of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.

They reaffirmed their full commitment to a political resolution to the conflict on the basis of the two-state solution with Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace, and the Arab Peace Initiative, paving the way for lasting peace and coexistence between all the peoples of the region. The participants reaffirmed their commitment in this regard to the convening of a UN High Level International Conference in June in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, to advance these goals.

The meeting was attended by Chairman of the Committee and Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan; Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani; Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine Dr. Mohammad Mustafa; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan Ayman Safadi; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Dr. Abdullatif Al-Zayani; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Dr. Badr Abdelatty; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye Hakan Fidan; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Sugiono; Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar; Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria in Cairo Adesuyi Samotu; Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit; and Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hissein Brahim Taha.