Arab, Muslim leaders urge Israel to withdraw from occupied territories

RIYADH

Arab and Muslim leaders called on Israel to withdraw fully from Arab territories it has occupied since 1967 to achieve "comprehensive" regional peace, during a joint summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Nov. 11.

The summit's closing statement said that "a just and comprehensive peace in the region... cannot be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation of all occupied Arab territories to the line of June 4, 1967" — the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights — and "in accordance with... the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative" that offered Israel regional normalisation in return for Palestinian statehood.

The assembled leaders "condemn in the strongest terms" the Israeli army's actions "in the context of the crime of genocide... especially in the northern Gaza Strip during the past weeks," the summit's closing statement said, citing torture, executions, disappearances and "ethnic cleansing".

Arab and Muslim leaders also called on "all countries to ban the export of weapons and ammunition to Israel."

The summit addressed ways to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Lebanon, describing the meeting as a continuation of a joint Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh last November, according to a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

Dangerous escalation

Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi said that the ongoing tragic situation in Palestine and Lebanon had dangerously escalated tensions across the Middle East, threatening regional stability.

True stability in the region can only be achieved through a comprehensive vision based on justice and rights, he said.

Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani echoed similar sentiments, criticizing Israel for its continued destruction and genocide in Gaza amid international pressure to stop it.

He added that a ceasefire and efforts to grant the Palestinian people their rightful independence, with East Jerusalem as their capital, are prerequisites for lasting peace and security in the region.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, called for the international community to expedite the implementation of a two-state solution, ceasefire, and prevent further expansion of the conflict, including ending the forced displacement of Gaza’s population and ensuring humanitarian aid reaches displaced people.