Cairo: The emergency meeting of the Arab League Council condemned the Israeli government’s plans to occupy the Gaza Strip, considering it a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security. The Council called for an immediate ceasefire and the imposition of international sanctions on Israel.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the League Council affirmed that the Israeli attacks and violations on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank constitute a violation of international law and conventions and constitute “blatant aggression against all Arab countries, their national security, and their political and economic interests,” and a threat to security, peace, and stability in the region.
This came in the resolution issued by the extraordinary session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of permanent representatives, chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and at the request of Palestine and with the support of Arab states. The session discussed ways to confront Israel’s plan to reoccupy the Gaza Strip and gain full control over it, in accordance with a resolution approved by the Israeli Security and Political Affairs Cabinet.
The Council of the Arab League reiterated its call to protect the Palestinian people from genocide, displacement, and ethnic cleansing, and to prevent the liquidation of their central cause, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, international law, and relevant international and regional agreements, as well as the resolution on joint defense and economic cooperation among Arab League member states within the framework of protecting the interests of member states, their sovereign decisions, and their legal obligations.
The emergency meeting stressed the need to implement the decisions of the Arab and Islamic summits to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and to allow the entry of sufficient humanitarian relief convoys to the entire Strip by land, sea, and air, in cooperation and coordination with the United Nations and its specialized agencies, including UNRWA. The meeting affirmed Israel’s full and complete responsibility for its blockade of the Gaza Strip and held it accountable for its consequences. The Council called on the two Arab members of the Security Council, Algeria and Somalia, and the Arab Group in New York, to submit a draft resolution to the Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. This resolution would compel Israel, the occupying power, to cease fire, allow adequate and unconditional relief aid into the entire Gaza Strip, end its occupation, comply with relevant Security Council resolutions, and impose international sanctions on it, considering its crimes and practices a th
reat to regional and international peace and security.
The Council of the Arab League affirmed its call on all states to implement legal and administrative measures, including prohibiting the export, transfer, or transit of weapons, ammunition, and military materials to Israel, reviewing economic relations with it, and conducting national and international investigations and prosecutions of Israeli officials responsible for crimes against the Palestinian people.
The Council of the League called on the international community, especially the United States, to pressure Israel to “stop its aggression and crimes” against the Palestinian people, including “genocide, starvation, and displacement,” and to end its illegal occupation, as it is the state most capable of achieving this.
The Arab League Council condemned Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of genocide in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the starvation of 200 Palestinian civilians, half of whom were children. It also condemned the death traps set by Israeli forces under the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” which resulted in 1,500 deaths and thousands of injuries.
The Arab League Council stressed the need to enable the State of Palestine to assume full governance responsibilities in the Gaza Strip, as well as in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with Arab and international support, ensuring the unity of law, order, and arms, within the framework of the political program of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.