IRIA News

An emergency joint Arab-Islamic summit kicked off in the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 11, 2023. Leaders of the Arab and Muslim world condemned “Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, war crimes and barbaric and inhumane massacres by the occupation government”, the final communique said.

Leaders and representatives of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conducted a joint summit in Saudi Arabia to address Israel’s onslaught in Gaza, which has entered its 37th day.

Before the leaders’ summit in Riyadh, the foreign ministers of respective countries held a preparatory meeting with the aim of finding “consensus on the draft final statement of the summit on the unified collective Arab and Islamic position,” according to Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency.

Unified collective response 

Originally, two separate summits were planned where the leaders of the 22 Arab League states and the OIC leaders would meet and develop a joint response against Israel and its military operation in Gaza. Following the meeting between the foreign ministers, it was announced that a joint Arab-Islamic summit would be held instead of two summits.

Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud hosted the summit attended by the leaders and heads of government and heads of delegations of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States.

In his opening remarks, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called for an immediate cessation of military operations in Gaza and the release of all captives and prisoners. “This is a humanitarian catastrophe that has proved the failure of the international community and the UN Security Council to put an end to Israel’s gross violations of international humanitarian laws, and prove the dual standards adopted by the world,” he said.

“We are certain the only cause for peace is the end of the Israeli occupation and illegal settlements, and restoration of the established rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of the state in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.

Call for an immediate ceasefire

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas highlighted that besides Gaza, Israeli forces’ raids in the occupied West Bank have also escalated and called on the United States to put an end to “Israel’s aggression, the occupation, violation and desecration of our holy sites”.

“No military and security solutions are acceptable as they have all failed. We categorically reject any efforts to displace our people from Gaza or the West Bank,” Abbas added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Israel was taking revenge on Gazan babies, children, and women, as he renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire. “What is urgent in Gaza is not pauses for a few hours, rather we need a permanent ceasefire,” he added. “We cannot put Hamas resisters defending their homeland in the same category as the occupiers.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi emphasized that the policy of “collective punishment” by killing, siege, and forcible transfer, is unacceptable. “This cannot be interpreted as self-defense and must be stopped immediately,” he stressed.

Iranian President in Saudi Arabia

President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi also attended the meeting in Riyadh, marking the first visit by an Iranian president in 11 years. Raisi said that the “Blind bombardment against Gaza must stop,” Raisi said, adding that “Islamic governments should designate the army of the occupying and aggressor regime [Israel] as a terrorist organization”.

He also condemned Washington for its support of Israel in the United Nations. The U.S. has vetoed resolutions that prevent the killing of Palestinians. “It has paved the way for Israel to kill more, to bombard more, and to shell more,” Raisi said as he held the U.S. accountable for its actions.

Diplomatic activities on the rise

The joint summit of the Arab League and the OIC comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activities across the region and beyond. Two days before the joint summit, leaders of Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan gathered in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana for talks that included discussions on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.