The Arab League confirmed in its extraordinary ministerial meeting today, Wednesday, to discuss political moves to stop the Israeli aggression and achieve security and peace, its support for the Palestinian Authority politically, economically, and financially. The final statement of the emergency meeting emphasized the need to revive the peace process and launch serious negotiations.
It stated, "It is necessary to revive the peace process and initiate serious negotiations between the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people, and Israel." It also stressed the need to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip and immediately allow the entry of humanitarian aid, as well as "cancel Israel's unjust decisions and stop supplying Gaza with water and cutting off electricity to the Strip."
The Arab League statement added, "Achieving just peace is the only guarantee for stability in the region," calling for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza and working towards "the two-state solution according to the Arab Initiative." This meeting of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level was held at the request of the State of Palestine and the Kingdom of Morocco, during which political action on the Arab and international levels to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza and achieve security and peace based on international law and relevant international resolutions was discussed.
Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed in his speech that there are serious possibilities for the situation to escalate and potentially widen the scope of confrontations, noting, "I hope these possibilities do not materialize as they could plunge the entire region into an unknown situation." He pointed out that this dangerous moment requires everyone to exercise the utmost restraint and consider the consequences.
He added, "The retaliatory operations that the Israeli occupation forces are preparing will not bring stability; rather, they will lead us into further cycles of violence and bloodshed." He emphasized that "the collective punishment imposed on the residents of Gaza is rejected and condemned under international law."
He stressed that "there is a path that secures the lives of all civilians; it is the only rational path that preserves life, security, and the future of both peoples: ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital."
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki warned that the Palestinian Authority had been warning for years about the repercussions of closing the political horizon for conflict resolution and the Israeli government’s continuous failure to implement all signed agreements. He also cautioned against the double standards of the international community and its silence on all of Israel's unlawful unilateral actions, particularly settlement expansion and the desecration of Christian and Islamic sanctities.
He stated, "We reaffirm to the entire world that the State of Palestine strongly condemns the killing and targeting of civilians wherever they may be, considering it a crime against humanity liable to prosecution under international law and competent international courts, and we call for an immediate halt to the aggression and war. The international community must not remain silent in the face of the massacres being perpetrated against the Palestinian people."
Al-Maliki added, "Commitment to the signed agreements and restoring the political horizon for resolving the conflict, and reviving the peace process through serious negotiations between the two sides according to international peace references and the Arab Peace Initiative, leading to the end of the occupation, is the correct entry point for achieving security and stability in the region and its prosperity." He warned, "Without that, violence, extremism, racism, occupation, settlement, and the commission of more crimes and destruction will remain the order of the day."
A message from "Palestine" was presented at the Arab League headquarters, supporting the Palestinians in conjunction with the meeting of Arab foreign ministers.
