The participants in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Riyadh on Saturday called for ending the Gaza siege, Al Jazeera reported.
In a statement, leaders demanded aid be allowed to enter the occupied territory and called for a cessation of arms exports to Israel.
The bloc rejected describing Israel’s war as “self-defence” and condemed “Israeli aggression in Gaza”.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has slammed Israel for its atrocities and called for exploring the possibility of instituting proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the genocide convention and in the interim requesting provisional measures.
“Israel has turned Gaza into a living hell,” he said at the OIC summit on Gaza convened by the kingdom in Riyadh on Saturday.
Kakar joined other Muslim leaders in making the following demands
He described the war as “genocide”, saying that Israel’s flouting of law with impunity has “few parallels in history”.
The caretaker prime minister condemned atrocities in the strongest terms and demanded that the killing of civilians should be stopped.
He appealed to the conscience of all world leaders to play their due role in ensuring immediate ceasefire and rapid scale and unhindered humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
“The greatest onus is on the UNSC members to rise above their differences and urgently perform their primary responsibilities in scale,” Kakar said, “I have no doubt that the only permanent solution lies in the creation of a secure viable contiguous, and sovereign state of Palestine on the basis of pre-June 1967 borders with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital. We must all work towards that end with a sense of urgency and the people of Gaza urgently need a reprieve.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has called for an end to the Gaza siege, as Israel faced mounting international pressure to do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza as the death toll rose and fighting intensified near hospitals.
“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 while delivering his opening address at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit on Gaza convened by the kingdom in Riyadh on Saturday.
Mohammed Bin Salman, who is often referred to by his initials, called for an immediate cessation of military operations in Gaza and the release of all captives and prisoners.
The summit would discuss the “brutal aggression against the Palestinian people,” said an official announcement from the headquarters of the 57-member bloc in Jeddah on November 6.
Leaders from Iran, Turkiye, Palestine, and other Muslim nations are attending the summit. Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar landed in Riyadh on Friday for the event. In a meeting with the Palestinian president, he called for an immediate end to the Gaza
The Islamic countries’ leaders have gathered after over a month since Israeli forces started attacking Gaza after the unprecedented operation by Hamas on October 7. More than 11,000 Palestinians have so far been killed in the Israeli military offensive with almost half of them being children.
“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 on 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the MBS said.
The number of Palestinians killed during the bombardment of the coastal enclave in the past five weeks rose above 11,000, according to Gaza health officials.
In his strongest comments to date on the plight of civilians caught in the cross-fire, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on a visit to India on Friday: “Far too many Palestinians have been killed; far too many have suffered these past weeks.”
But Blinken reaffirmed US support for Israel’s campaign to ensure that Gaza can no longer be used “as a platform for launching terrorism”.
Palestinian President Abbas called for the United States to help end Israel’s operations in Gaza
“The UN Security Council must live up to its responsibility and obligation to put an end to this belligerent war on our people without further delay,” he said.
He added that his country needed international protection for unarmed civilians. “The West Bank and Jerusalem are coming under daily attacks by occupation forces as well as illegal settlers,” Abbas said and reminded that no military and security solutions have proved substantial.
Abbas lamented the “indifference” of the international community over the attacks on Gaza and alleged that Israel was committing genocide of Palestinians.
He demanded that Israel should be tried in an international court for its “war crimes”. According to Abbas, the United Nations Security Council has failed to stop Israeli aggression.
“Israel has forgotten the two-state solution,” he said, “the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the state of Palestine.”
The besieged territory has so far suffered $20 billion worth of losses, the Palestinian president said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called out the West for its apparent double standards while throwing attention towards Gaza.
“The international community got united at the deaths of a few men in Paris while the world is silent on the bloodshed in Gaza,” he said in his address.
He added that Turkiye was sending 366 tons of aid for the people.
Erdogan blamed the Israeli administration for the atrocities in the besieged territory and added that the bloc’s target was a ceasefire.
He demanded that an international peace conference should be called for the establishment of two states, adding that Israel’s nuclear programme was dangerous for the region.
“Al Aqsa Mosque is our red line,” Erdogan said.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the Islamic bloc should find a solution to the Gaza issue and reiterated his condemnation of the Israeli attacks.
“This is a decisive time in the history of the region,” Raisi said and added that the Islamic republic seeks good relations with its neighbours.
He went on to add that the people of Gaza were living in “jail” – a word linked with “open air prison” used for the occupied territory – for the past 20 years.
The Iranian president claimed that Israel through its barbaric attacks wanted the genocide of Palestinians.
