The Arab-Islamic summit hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday condemned Israel’s actions against Palestinians, calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza. The summit also called for the end of the siege on Gaza, allowing humanitarian aid into the enclave, halting arms exports to Israel, and demanding a decisive resolution from the United Nations Security Council to halt Israel’s aggression. Arab leaders and Iran’s president also condemned Israel’s actions, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Islamic countries should designate the Israeli army as a terrorist organization.
The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation held an emergency meeting after the October 7 surprise attacks by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli offensive, which has killed over 11,000 people, most of whom were civilians. The Arab diplomats failed to reach an agreement on a final statement, and some countries proposed disrupting oil supplies to Israel and severing economic and diplomatic ties with the nation. However, at least three countries rejected the proposal. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also spoke at the summit, saying that no Middle Eastern country should engage in any political process with Israel until a lasting ceasefire was reached.
Israel says it is out to destroy Hamas and blames the Palestinian group for the high death toll, accusing it of using civilians as “human shields”. Israel and the United States have rebuffed demands for a ceasefire, which drew criticism from the attendees at the summit, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The summit also addressed the potential expansion of the conflict, with Iran backing Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia is concerned about potential attacks due to its close ties with Washington and previous considerations to normalize ties with Israel before the war broke out. Kim Ghattas, author of a book on the Iran-Saudi rivalry, stated that “the Saudis are hoping that the fact they didn’t normalize yet, and the fact that they have a channel to the Iranians, gives them some protection.”