At a summit in Saudi ArabiaOn Monday, the heads of state of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have unanimously called for the total withdrawal ofIsrael of the territories occupied since 1967, including West BankEast Jerusalem and the Golan Heights Syrian Golan Heights. “A just and comprehensive peace in the region […] cannot be achieved without putting an end to the Israeli occupation”, states the summit’s final declaration, which is based on the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly.UN and the 2002 Arab peace plan. They also reaffirmed their support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
For its part, Benyamin Netanyahu’s government is firmly opposed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Palestinian state. This is not a realistic project today,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, arguing that such a state would become a “state of peace”. Hamas “. However, Israel’s position runs counter to the aspirations of the majority of the international community, which favors a two-state solution.
Condemnation of the Israeli army’s actions
The summit participants also “strongly condemned” the actions of the Israeli army, which they described as a “crime of genocide”. […] particularly in the north of the Gaza in recent weeks”, where the Israeli army has been conducting an offensive since October 6. They called on the international community to “prohibit the export or transfer of arms and munitions to Israel” and condemned “the continuing attacks by the Israeli authorities”. […] against the UN”.
“The world expects” the incoming Trump administration, to put an “immediate” end to the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, for his part, Iran’s first vice-president, Mohammad Reza Aref, said in Riyadh. He described the assassinations of Palestinian Hamas leaders in Tehran in July, and of Lebanese Hezbollah near Beirut at the end of September, as “organized terrorism” by Israel. At the same time, Hezbollah announced that it was “ready for a long war”, while the Israeli army ruled out any ceasefire without the “capitulation” of the Lebanese Islamist movement.
Warm-up between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Against a backdrop of regional conflict, the summit also highlighted a strategic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, after seven years of tensions. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmane referred to Iran as a “sister republic”, while calling on Israel to “refrain from attacking” its neighbor. Iran, an ally of Hezbollah and Hamas, denounced Israel’s targeted assassinations of Palestinian and Lebanese leaders as “organized terrorism”.
Saudi Arabia, which is seeking to extricate itself from the conflict in Yemen, nevertheless condemns Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Despite discussions on a possible ceasefire in Lebanon, tensions remain high, with Israel conditioning any agreement on the complete neutralization of Hezbollah.