RIYADH- Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan said Saturday that the exceptional situation in the Gaza Strip prompted the holding of a joint Arab-Islamic summit to discuss the violations committed by Israel.
In a press conference following the Arab-Islamic summit, Prince Faisal added that the participants called on international agencies to do their part and stop the double standards that gave Israel the green light to carry out a list of violations of international law.
The participants also adopted a declaration containing several points, including working to break the siege on Gaza, as well as imposing an immediate entry of Arab, humanitarian, Islamic and international aid convoys, including food, medicine and fuel into the enclave, he added.
The declaration called on the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to complete an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel and assigned the secretariats of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to establish two media monitoring units to document and monitor all the crimes of the occupation and expose its illegal practices, the Saudi senior diplomat said.
A committee grouping the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Palestine was assigned to work on conveying the position of the leaders to the international community and insisting on ending this war, alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people, and advancing a peace process that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state with sovereignty within the Arab Peace Initiative, he added.
The Saudi foreign minister described the Arab and Islamic countries as a bloc with weight. “The decision to group the bloc in one summit instead of two summits in itself carried a message that there is a strong unifying stance that refers not only to Israel and its practices, but also to the international community, including those countries that ignore, justify, or excuse Israel from its obligation to the foundations of international humanitarian law.”
The unified message is that we see and monitor double standards, and based on that, we evaluate the credibility of the international action system, he added.
The Arab and Islamic groups demanded an immediate ceasefire, and the opening of the crossings for the arrival of aid and humanitarian needs into the Gaza Strip, the Saudi top diplomat said.
Peace is our goal as Arabs and Muslims. But the other party is the one who avoids talking about peace. We will continue to talk about peace, establishing two states, and achieving a Palestinian state, he added.
Prince Faisal stressed that the Arab-Islamic bloc has a crucial role to play in pressurizing the international community, the Security Council and the United Nations to fulfil their responsibility of ensuring global peace and security.
He also emphasized the need for reforms within the international community, as the United Nations and the Security Council have failed to meet the expectations of the global community. He added that reform is inevitable and the Arab and Islamic world has the power and influence to drive this change.
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