CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy on Thursday condemned what he described as a dangerous Israeli escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon, warning that continued violence could push the region into a wider confrontation.
In an official statement, Fahmy said that the West Bank and Jerusalem had witnessed raids, arrests and home demolitions, alongside escalating settler violence against Palestinians and their property.
He also pointed to near-daily incursions by settler groups into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under Israeli police protection, as well as restrictions imposed on Muslim worshippers seeking access to the site.
Fahmy said that the measures formed part of what he described as a systematic effort to impose a new reality that undermined the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He also cited the establishment of a settler outpost near Palestinian homes in Qusra, south of Nablus, where he said families had been trapped inside their homes.
Fahmy said that Israeli military operations and settler violence were part of a broader strategy aimed at seizing land, creating new facts on the ground and obstructing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
He held the Israeli government responsible for the violence, saying that as an occupying power it was obliged under international law to protect civilians in occupied territory.
Turning to Lebanon, Fahmy condemned Israeli attacks in the south of the country, describing them as part of a continuing pattern of violations.
He cited the latest strikes on Zawtar Al-Sharqiyah, which he said damaged the municipality building, a public school, a clinic, a kindergarten and several homes.
Fahmy said that the targeting of civilian infrastructure constituted a violation of international humanitarian law and existing understandings, while also obstructing the deployment of the Lebanese Army and preventing displaced residents from returning to their towns.
He warned that continued escalation was pushing the region into a “downward spiral” that could become increasingly difficult to contain.
Fahmy called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to take urgent action over Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories and neighboring countries.
His comments came amid continued violence in the West Bank and southern Lebanon. Earlier this week, Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, attacked the village of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah.
Fahmy had also warned last week that attempts by Israel to impose a new regional reality through military force would not deliver security and instead risk widening the conflict and further destabilizing the Middle East.
Ambassador Salah Halima, a former Egyptian assistant foreign minister, told Arab News that Israel’s actions in Palestine and Lebanon represented serious violations of international law and the UN Charter.
He accused Israel of seeking to expand its control over Palestinian territory rather than implementing US President Donald Trump’s peace roadmap, and called on the international community to take a stronger position.
Ambassador Mohamed El-Shazly, another former Egyptian assistant foreign minister, told Arab News that Israel had repeatedly disregarded the UN and international humanitarian law and had relied on military force in its approach to the conflict.
He described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a crime against humanity.
The remarks follow a meeting of Arab ministers in Amman last week to discuss developments in Jerusalem and formulate a unified response to Israeli measures affecting the city and the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
