Israel Palestine Conflict: A joint summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation was recently held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, against Israeli military action against Hamas in Gaza, in which Arab and Muslim leaders condemned the Israeli military action but called for punitive economic and military action against it. Refused to approve political steps. 57 countries participated in this summit.
Some countries, including Algeria and Lebanon, had brought proposals against Israel and its allies to stop oil supplies and break economic and diplomatic relations with them, which could not be passed. Three countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain rejected the proposal.
Regional differences emerged
Regional differences were visible in the outcome of the conference. According to AFP report, in the final declaration of the summit on Saturday (November 11), Israel’s claim that it was acting in self-defense was rejected. It demanded that the United Nations Security Council adopt a decisive and binding resolution to stop Israel’s aggression.
The declaration also called for an end to arms sales to Israel and rejected any future political solution to the conflict that would keep Gaza separate from the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
According to the report, the Arab League and OIC, which are included in the 57-member bloc of Iran’s membership, were originally scheduled to meet separately. The decision to merge the meetings came after failing to reach an agreement on the final statement, Arab diplomats told AFP.
The proposal of some countries including Algeria and Lebanon was not passed
Diplomats said some countries, including Algeria and Lebanon, proposed disrupting oil supplies to Israel and its allies, and they also proposed that some Arab League countries break economic and diplomatic ties with Israel. Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that at least three countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, rejected the proposal. These countries normalized relations with Israel in 2020.
Hamas had made this call from the summit
In a statement issued from Gaza, Hamas called on countries attending the summit to expel Israeli ambassadors, create a legal commission to prosecute Israeli war criminals and create a reconstruction fund for the territory.
Syrian President said this
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the lack of concrete punitive measures against Israel would render the summit useless. “If we don’t have real tools to put pressure (on Israel), then whatever steps we take or speeches we give will mean nothing,” Assad said.
He said that until a permanent ceasefire is reached, no Middle Eastern country should engage in any political process with Israel, including developing economic ties.
Lack of consensus is no big surprise – experts
At the same time, Rabha Saif Allam, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs at the Cairo Center for Strategic Studies, said that the lack of consensus is not a big surprise. He said differences between Washington’s Arab allies and countries close to Iran cannot be resolved overnight.
It is a shame that Western countries…- Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “It is a shame that Western countries, which always talk about human rights and freedom, are silent in front of the ongoing genocide in Palestine.” Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister. Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that Israel is getting freedom to violate international law.