Extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit reaffirms support for Palestinian rights, condemns Israeli aggression

Arab and Muslim leaders demanded on Monday that Israel withdraw from occupied Palestinian territories as a precondition for regional peace, while denouncing what they called “shocking” Israeli actions in war-ravaged Gaza.

A summit meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh gave the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's 57 nations a chance to speak with one voice on the turmoil engulfing the region, more than a year into Israel's war on Gaza.

The summit’s final communiqué strongly condemned the continuous Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, which have worsened the humanitarian crisis in the region. The communiqué asserted that “a just and comprehensive peace... cannot be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation of all occupied Arab territories to the line of June 4, 1967,” referring to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the Golan Heights.

The statement mentioned UN resolutions that have called on Israel to withdraw from these areas, and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, in which Arab nations offered Israel normalized ties in return for a two-state agreement with the Palestinians along the 1967 lines.

The international community should "launch a plan with specific steps and timing under international sponsorship" to make a sovereign Palestinian state a reality, the statement said.

The summit's concluding statement demanded all countries ban exports or transfers of weapons and ammunition to Israel and urged the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for civilian and military officials in Israel.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman emphasized the need for Israel to respect the sovereignty of regional states, including Iran, and warned of the destabilizing impact of unchecked aggression.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati described the situation as an “unprecedented existential crisis” for Lebanon and reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to Resolution 1701, which involves strengthening Lebanese military presence in the south and ensuring security along recognized borders with support from UN peacekeepers.

Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 43,600 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable, displaced nearly its entire population, caused a hunger crisis and led to allegations of genocide at the World Court, which Israel denies.