Conflicts
Special Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh on the situation in Gaza
Ebrahim Raisi, President of Iran, is greeted by a Saudi official at the airport in Riyadh. photo
© Iranian Presidency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
The heads of state of Arab and other Islamic states are meeting in Riyadh for a joint summit. Iran’s President Raisi also takes part in the meeting to discuss the Gaza war.
Heads of state from Arab and other Islamic states met on Saturday at an extraordinary summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh advises on the Gaza war. “We demand an immediate ceasefire,” said Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman at the start of the special summit. Israel must immediately stop its military operations.
Humanitarian corridors to Gaza must be secured. The only solution to achieve stability in the region is to end the occupation, settlement and siege, said the Crown Prince, referring to the Israeli actions. At the same time he demanded the release of all hostages and innocent people.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said at the start: “Our Palestinian people are facing the most terrible and brutal aggression and even an unprecedented war of annihilation.” Gaza is an integral part of Palestine. Any political solution must encompass the entire Palestinian territory, including the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza.
Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi is also taking part in the summit. It is Raisi’s first visit to the kingdom since the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In addition, Syria’s ruler Bashar al-Assad arrived in Riyadh for the summit. It is one of his first appearances at an international meeting since the civil war broke out in his country. After around a decade of isolation, Assad only took part in an Arab League summit again in March.
A meeting of the 22 member states of the Arab League was originally planned for Saturday and one of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday. Following consultations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the OIC, it was decided to hold a special joint summit instead. The OIC includes 57 Muslim states.