RIYADH: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has again renewed Saudi Arabia’s rejection of Israeli attacks in Gaza and violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
In his opening statement during the extraordinary Arab and Islamic summit in Riyadh, the crown prince criticized the obstruction of humanitarian agencies’ work in Gaza and also rejected diminishing the role of the Palestinian Authority.
Israel had formally notified the UN of its decision to sever ties with UNRWA, after Israeli lawmakers backed the move last week.
The international community must “immediately halt the Israeli actions against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon”, the crown prince said, condemning Israel’s campaign in Gaza as “genocide.”
“We condemn the Israeli military operations that targeted Lebanese territories and we reject anything that threatens Lebanon’s stability and safety as well as anything that violates its territorial integrity.”
He also condemned attacks on Iranian territory.
“We stand with our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon,” the crown prince said.
The crown prince also said that Palestine qualifies for full membership in the UN, and stressed the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state.
“We launched a global initiative to support the two-state solution,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has succeeded in calling more peace-loving countries to recognize a Palestinian state, through the UN General Assembly, considering that Palestine is eligible for a full membership, the crown prince said.
Arab-Islamic leaders arrived in Riyadh on Monday ahead of a Saudi Arabia-sponsored follow-up summit focusing on Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Shavkat Mirziyoyev, president of Uzbekistan; Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council President; Bashar Assad, president of Syria; Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, prime minister of Iraq; Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain; and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, president of Egypt, arrived in Riyadh on Monday to join the extra-ordinary summit.
King Abdullah II of Jordan, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Iran First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref and Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi also arrived on Monday in Riyadh. Bakary Yaou Sangare, Niger’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, also arrived for the event.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived on Sunday, so did Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, the Foreign Minister of Guinea Morissanda Kouyate, the President of Senegal Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Uganda’s Third Deputy Prime Minister Lukia Isanga Nakadama.
The President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Ghazouani arrived in the Kingdom’s capital on Sunday after performing Umrah and praying in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah on Saturday.
