Cairo: The foreign ministers of eight Arab and Islamic countries condemned on Thursday the ongoing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip, particularly the targeting of health facilities and installations, attacks on civilian infrastructure, and the continued civilian casualties, including women and children, in grave violation of international law and international humanitarian law.
According to Union of OIC News Agencies, the joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Qatar, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Turkey, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ministers affirmed that the continuation of these violations constitutes a clear breach of Israel's obligations under international law and undermines international and regional efforts aimed at ending the war in the Gaza Strip.
They pointed out that these violations threaten to derail the political process, reignite the cycle of escalation, and deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, stressing the need to protect civilians and ensure the immediate, safe, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, medical supplies, and relief to all parts of Gaza.
The ministers stressed their countries' categorical rejection of any attempts to annex the occupied Palestinian territory, impose Israeli sovereignty over it, or forcibly displace the Palestinian people. They affirmed that achieving a just and comprehensive peace requires launching a serious political process leading to the implementation of the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The statement called on the international community, particularly the Security Council, to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities and take practical measures to compel Israel to fulfill its obligations under international law and hold those responsible for grave violations accountable, thereby contributing to the protection of civilians and the achievement of a lasting ceasefire.
The ministers also stressed that Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip cannot be separated from settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, settlement expansion, and unilateral measures aimed at changing the status quo in occupied Jerusalem, considering these practices to be a systematic policy aimed at imposing a fait accompli by force and undermining the foundations of the two-state solution.