Arab leaders call for immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza

CAIRO – 16 May 2024:  Arab leaders have called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, an end to all attempts of forced displacement and all forms of siege, allowing full and sustainable access to humanitarian aid for the enclave, in addition to an immediate withdrawal of Israel from the  Palestinian city of Rafah.

This came in a statement issued at the conclusion of the 33rd Arab Summit held Thursday in the Bahraini capital of Manama.

The Arab leaders condemned in the strongest terms the continuity of brutal Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, the crimes committed against Palestinian civilians, and the unprecedented Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law, which led to the killing and injury of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians.

Those violations include the targeting of civilians and civil facilities, using siege and starvation as a weapon, as well as forced displacement attempts, said the statement.

The Arab leaders deplored the expansion of Israeli aggression to the Palestinian city of Rafah, which has become a refuge for more than a million displaced Palestinians, and its catastrophic humanitarian consequences.

The statement also denounced the Israeli occupation forces' control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which aims to tighten a suffocating siege on civilians and has led to the shutting down of the crossing and a halt to the flow of life-saving humanitarian aid.

The Arab leaders condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation forces’ targeting of humanitarian agencies and UN organizations in the Gaza Strip, obstructing their work, and the attacks launched on aid convoys to Gaza, including attacks by Israeli extremists on Jordanian aid convoys.

"We demand an immediate international investigation into these attacks," they stressed.

They reiterated their continued support for the Palestinian people in all forms against the Israeli aggression, calling on the international community to assume its moral and legal responsibilities in the face of aggressive Israeli practices.