* Accuse Netanyahu govt of war crimes, demand ICC probe
By Hammeed M. Bello
A joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit has adopted a resolution on Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, accusing Israel of gross violation of International laws.
The Extraordinary Summit, which concluded in Riyadh on Saturday, also accused Israel of war crimes and called on the International Criminal Court to probe the said Israeli atrocities on Palestinian people.
A report quoting a joint statement by OIC and Arab League shared by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Abuja on Sunday cited the Summit to have adopted a number of resolutions on the matter.
“We, the leaders of the states and governments of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the League of Arab States, have decided to merge the two summits that the OIC and the Arab League had decided to hold.
“This came in response to the kind invitations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the chair of the two summits) and the State of Palestine. We express our joint stance in condemning the brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
“We affirm addressing together this aggression and the humanitarian catastrophe that it causes. We seek to stop and end all Israeli illegal practices that perpetuate the occupation and deprive the Palestinian people of their rights, especially their right to freedom and to have an independent sovereign State on all their national territory.
“We express our thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for their kind hospitality.
We reaffirm all resolutions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League regarding the Palestinian cause and all occupied Arab territories.
We recall all resolutions of the United Nations and other international organizations regarding the Palestinian cause, the crimes of the Israeli occupation and the right of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence in all its territories, which have been occupied since 1967 and constitute a sole geographical unit.
We welcome the UN General Assembly Resolution A/ES-10/L.25 adopted by the tenth emergency session on 26 October 2023.
“We affirm the centrality of the Palestinian cause and our standing with all our powers and capabilities by the brotherly Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to liberate all their occupied territories and to meet all their inalienable rights. This particularly includes their right to self-determination and to live in their independent and sovereign state on the borders of June 4th, 1967 with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
We reaffirm that a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, which is a strategic option, is the only way to establish security and stability for all peoples of the region and protect them from cycles of violence and wars. This, we stress, will not be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation and resolving the Palestinian cause on the basis of the two-state solution.
“We affirm that it is impossible to achieve regional peace while overlooking the Palestinian cause or attempting to ignore the rights of the Palestinian people. We stress that the Arab Peace Initiative, backed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, is an essential reference to this end.
“We hold Israel, the occupying force, responsible for the continuation and aggravation of the conflict, which is the result of its violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, and of the Islamic and Christian sanctities. This is also the result of its systematic aggressive policies and practices, its illegal unilateral steps that perpetuate the occupation, violate international law, and prevent the realization of a just and comprehensive peace.
“We affirm that Israel, and all countries of the region, will not enjoy security and peace unless the Palestinians enjoy theirs and regain all their stolen rights. We stress that the continuation of the Israeli occupation is a threat to the security and stability of the region and to international security and peace.
“We condemn all forms of hatred and discrimination, and all acts that perpetuate hatred and extremism.
“We warn of the disastrous repercussions of the retaliatory aggression by Israel against the Gaza Strip, which amounts to a war crime, and the barbaric crimes committed also in the West Bank and Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
“We warn of the real danger of the expansion of the war as a result of Israel’s refusal to stop its aggression and of the inability of the Security Council to enforce international law to end this aggression.
We decide to condemn the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and the war crimes as well as the barbaric, inhumane and brutal massacres being committed by the colonial occupation government against the strip and the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, including East Al-Quds.
“We demand ceasing this aggression immediately.
Reject describing this retaliatory war as self-defense or justifying it under any pretext.
“Break the siege on Gaza and impose the immediate entry of Arab, Islamic and international humanitarian aid convoys, including food, medicine and fuel into the Gaza Strip.
“We call on international organizations to participate in this process, stressing the need for their entry to the strip and for protecting their teams to enable them to fully fulfill their role.
“We affirm the necessity of supporting the United Nations Relief and Works for Palestine Refugees Agency (UNRWA).
” Support all steps taken by the Arab Republic of Egypt to confront the consequences of the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza.
“We support its efforts to bring aid into the strip in an immediate, sustainable and adequate manner.
” Call on the UN Security Council to take a decisive and binding decision that imposes a cessation of aggression and curbs the colonial occupation authority that violates international law, international humanitarian law, and international legitimacy resolutions, the latest of which is United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. A/ES-10/L.25 dated 26/10/2023.
“Inaction is considered a complicity that allows Israel to continue its brutal aggression that kills innocent people, children, the elderly, and women, and turns Gaza into ruin.
” Call on all countries to stop exporting weapons and ammunition to the occupation authorities that are used by their army and terrorist settlers to kill the Palestinian people and destroy their homes, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches and all their capabilities.
“Call on the Security Council to promptly pass a resolution condemning Israel’s barbaric destruction of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, the obstruction of medicine, food and fuel and the severing of crucial services like electricity, water, communication and internet access. These acts of collective punishment amount to war crimes under international law. We emphasize the need to impose this resolution on Israel, the occupying power, to ensure compliance with international laws and to immediately cease these barbaric and inhumane measures.
“We stress the necessity of lifting the blockade that Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip for years.
” Call on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to complete the investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in all the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Al-Quds.
“We assign the General Secretariats of the OIC and the Arab League to follow up on the implementation of this investigation and establish two specialized legal monitoring units to document Israeli crimes committed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. The units will then prepare legal proceedings on all violations of international law and international humanitarian law committed by Israel, the occupying power, against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Al-Quds. Each unit shall submit its report 15 days after its formation to be presented to the Arab League Council at the level of foreign ministers and to the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC.
“Subsequently, monthly reports should be submitted thereafter.
Support legal and political initiatives for the State of Palestine to hold Israeli occupying authorities accountable for their crimes against the Palestinian people, including the advisory opinion process at the International Court of Justice, and allow the investigative committee established by the Human Rights Council resolution to investigate these crimes without obstruction.
Assign the two secretariats of to establish two media monitoring units to document all the crimes committed by the occupying authorities against the Palestinian people, alongside digital media platforms to publish and expose their illegitimate and inhumane practices.
Assign the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as the presidency of the 32nd Arab and Islamic Summit, along with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine, and any other interested countries, and the Secretary-General of both organisations to initiate immediate international action on behalf of all member states of the OIC and the Arab League to formulate an international move to halt the war in Gaza and to pressure for a real and serious political process to achieve permanent and comprehensive peace in accordance with established international references.
Call upon member states of the OIC and the Arab League to exert diplomatic, political, and legal pressures, and take any deterrent actions to halt the crimes committed by the colonial occupation authorities against humanity.
“Condemn the double standards in applying international law; warn that this duality seriously undermines both the credibility of countries shielding Israel from international law and placing it above the law, as well as the credibility of multilateral action, exposing the selectivity in applying the system of humanitarian values; and emphasize that the positions of Arab and Islamic countries will be affected by such double standards that lead to a rift between civilizations and cultures.
“Condemn the displacement of nearly one and a half million Palestinians from the northern to the southern areas of the Gaza Strip as a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and its 1977 Protocol; call on the parties to the Convention to collectively denounce and reject this action; call on all United Nations organizations to confront the attempt of the colonial occupation authorities to perpetuate this miserable inhuman reality; and stress the immediate necessity for the return of these displaced individuals to their homes and regions.
Fully and absolutely reject, along with collectively opposing, any attempts at individual or mass forced displacement, deportation, or exile of the Palestinian people whether within the Gaza Strip, the West Bank including Al-Quds (Jerusalem), or outside their territories to any destination, considering it a red line and a war crime.
“Condemn the killing and targeting of civilians, as a principled stance based on our humanitarian values and in line with international law and humanitarian principles, and emphasize the immediate and swift steps the international community must take to cease the killing and targeting of Palestinian civilians, in a way that confirms the absolute equivalence of every single life, rejecting any discrimination based on nationality, race, or religion.
“Emphasize the necessity of releasing all prisoners and civilians; condemn the heinous crimes committed by the colonial occupation authorities against thousands of Palestinian prisoners; and call on all concerned nations and international organizations to put pressure for the cessation of these crimes and the prosecution of those responsible.
Stop the occupation forces’ killing crimes and the settlers’ terrorism and crimes in the Palestinian villages, cities and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank and all assaults on the Al Aqsa Mosque and all Islamic and Christian sanctities.
“Emphasize Israel’s need to fulfil its obligations as the occupying power by ceasing all illegal actions that perpetuate the occupation, especially settlements’ construction and expansion, land confiscation, and the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.
“Condemn the military operations launched by occupying forces against Palestinian cities and camps; denounce settler terrorism; and urge the international community to list these groups and organizations on global terrorism lists, so that the Palestinian people can enjoy all the rights afforded to other nations, including human rights, the right to security, self-determination, the realization of their state’s independence on their land, and the provision of international protection for them.
“Condemn the Israeli assaults on Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites and the Israeli illegitimate measures which violate freedom of worship; emphasize the importance of respecting the existing legal and historic status quo in the holy sites; emphasize that the Al Aqsa Mosque/ Al Haram Al Sharif, with its entire 144,000 square meters, is a place of worship solely for Muslims, with the Jordanian Awqaf and the Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department being the exclusive sole legitimate authority responsible for managing, maintaining, and regulating access to Al Aqsa Mosque, within the framework of the historic Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites; and support the roles of the Al-Quds Committee and its efforts in addressing the practices of the Israeli occupation authorities in the Holy City.
“Condemn the extremist and racist hate speech and actions by ministers within the Israeli occupying government, including one minister’s threat to use nuclear weapons against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and considering them a serious threat to international peace and security, necessitating support for the conference aimed at establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone and eliminating all other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, conducted within the framework of the United Nations and its goals to address this threat.
“Condemn the killing of journalists, children, and women, the targeting of medics, and the use of internationally banned white phosphorus in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon; denounce the repeated Israeli statements and threats to return Lebanon to the “Stone Age”; emphasize the importance of preventing the expansion of the conflict; and call on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to investigate Israel’s use of chemical weapons.
“Emphasize on that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and call on all Palestinian factions and parties to unite under its umbrella and shoulder their responsibilities under a PLO-led national partnership.
“Emphasize commitment to peace as a strategic choice, aiming to end Israeli occupation and resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in accordance with international law and relevant legitimate decisions, including UN Security Council Resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 497 (1981), 1515 (2003), and 2334 (2016); emphasizing adherence to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 in its entirety and priorities as the unified Arab consensus and the foundation for any peace revitalization efforts in the Middle East. The precondition for peace with Israel and the establishment of normal relations rests on ending its occupation of all Palestinian and Arab territories. It also includes establishing an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state based on the June 4, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, restoring the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, return, and compensation for Palestinian refugees, resolving their issue justly per UN General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948.
Emphasize the immediate need for the international community to launch a serious peace process to establish a two-state solution that fulfils all legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, notably their right to realize an independent, sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital to in security and peace alongside Israel, aligning with international legitimacy and the complete framework of the Arab Peace Initiative.
Emphasize that the failure to resolve the Palestinian cause over more than 75 years, the lack of response to the Israeli colonial occupation’s crimes, its deliberate policies undermining the two-state solution through settlement building and expansion, alongside unconditional support to Israel and shielding it from accountability, as well as disregarding continual warnings about the dangers of ignoring these crimes and their serious implications on international security and peace, has led to a severe deterioration of the situation.
Reject any proposals that perpetuate the separation of Gaza from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and emphasize that any future approach to Gaza must be within the framework of working towards a comprehensive solution ensuring the unity of Gaza and the West Bank as part of the Palestinian state, which must materialize as a free, independent, sovereign entity with its capital in East Jerusalem on the borders of June 4, 1967.
Call for convening an international peace conference, as soon as possible, through which a credible peace process will be launched based on international law, legitimate resolutions, and the principle of land for peace, within a defined timeframe and international guarantees, ultimately leading to the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967, including East Jerusalem, the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the Shebaa Farms, the Kfar Shuba Hills, and the outskirts of the Lebanese village of al-Mari, and the implementation of a two-state solution.
Activate the Arab and Islamic Financial Safety Net in line with the decisions of the fourteenth session of the Islamic Summit Conference and the Arab Summit resolutions, to provide financial contributions and support — economic, financial, and humanitarian — to the government of the State of Palestine and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Emphasize the necessity of mobilizing international partners to reconstruct Gaza and alleviate the comprehensive destruction caused by the Israeli aggression immediately upon cessation.
Assign both the Secretary-General of the Arab League and the OIC to closely oversee the implementation of the resolution and present a report on it at the upcoming sessions of their respective councils.”
Following the the rocket attack on Isreali territories by Hamas on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people, the Israeli military authorities have since sustained a vigorous war on Gaza and the West Bank, leading to massive destruction of civilian settlements and killing over 11,000 people and displacing over 25, 000 others.
The war on Gaza also includes a total blockade and lack of accessibility to medical aides, fuel, food and shelter to the civilian population.
There have also been condemnations and protests in major cities of the world in support of the Palestinian freedom, right to self determination and rejectiin of the daily “genocide” against Palestinians.
There were also reported protests in support of the Israeli right to self defence, though not in equal proportion to the anti-Israeli protests.
