Joint Arab-Islamic Summit calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

CAIRO – February 26, 2024: Members of the Ministerial Committee in charge of the Extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, headed by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, called for immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The meeting was held on Monday at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, with the Secretary-General of the United NationsAntónio Guterres, with the participation of Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Egyptian Foreign Ministers Sameh Shukri, Foreign Minister of Indonesia Retno Marsudi, and their Palestinian counterpart Riyad Al-Maliki.

The members of the committee said that taking serious and urgent steps to ensure that relief corridors to deliver sufficient and urgent humanitarian, food and medical aid to the Gaza Strip is a must, expressing their rejection of restricting the entry of humanitarian aid.

Additionally, they strongly denounced all attempts at forced displacement by the Israeli occupation and underscored the importance of upholding international law and humanitarian principles.

Concerning freedom of worship in Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian holy sites, the committee warned against any actions or policies that could escalate tensions and perpetuate violence.

Furthermore, they cautioned against the grave consequences of any Israeli military offensive targeting the city of Rafah in Gaza, which serves as the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians.

The members of the committee stressed the importance of creating serious political conditions for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967, in accordance with the relevant international resolutions, expressing their rejection of dividing the Palestinian issue and discussing the future of the Gaza Strip in isolation from the Palestinian issue.