RIYADH: The foreign ministers of Arab and Muslim nations on Saturday denounced statements about a “Greater Israel” that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reported to have made in the wake of pronouncements by his far-right allies to annex Palestinian territories.
In a joint statement the ministers said the pronouncements by Netanyahu and his ministers were “a blatant and dangerous violation” of international law.
“They also constitute a direct threat to Arab national security, to the sovereignty of states, and to regional and international peace and security,” said the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
Signatories of the document included the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkiye, the UAE, and Yemen. Also included were the secretaries-general of the League of Arab States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The ministers stressed that “while their states reaffirm their respect for international legitimacy and the Charter of the UN, particularly article 2, paragraph 4 which prohibits the use of force or the threat thereof, they will adopt all policies and measures that preserve peace, in a manner that serves the interests of all states and peoples in achieving security, stability, and development, away from illusions of domination and the imposition of power by force.”
The ministers pushed back against Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich’s approval of the settlement plan in the E1 area of the West Bank, along with his statements rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
European nations are also alarmed at the move and have called on the Israeli government to halt its plans, with Germany warning that the E1 settlement plan and the expansion of Maale Adumim would further restrict the mobility of the Palestinian population in the West Bank by splitting it in half and cutting the area off from East Jerusalem.
The statement said Israel’s plan would constitute a “blatant violation of international law and a flagrant assault on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to realize their independent, sovereign state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital.”
It warned of Israel’s blatant disregard for the rights of Palestinians and its neighbors as the international community as a whole “directly fuel cycles of violence and conflict and undermines prospects for achieving just and comprehensive peace in the region.”
Ministers “reiterated their rejection and condemnation of Israel’s crimes of aggression, genocide, and ethnic cleansing” and reaffirmed the need for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip “ensuring unconditional humanitarian access to end the policy of systematic starvation that Israel is pursuing as a weapon of genocide.”
More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel has also continued to block international humanitarian agencies from delivering food to starving people in the enclave.
