Cairo (UNA/SPA) - The Council of the League of Arab States at the level of permanent representatives called on the international community to take immediate action to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, recognize the catastrophe and famine occurring in the Gaza Strip, break the siege imposed on the Strip, and ensure the delivery of aid. It also asked the two non-permanent Arab members of the Security Council, Algeria and Somalia, to continue working to hold an emergency session of the Security Council to issue a resolution obligating Israel to end the siege imposed on Gaza and allow the entry of humanitarian aid.
This came in a resolution issued today by the extraordinary session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of permanent delegates, entitled "Political and diplomatic action to confront the policy of starvation and siege imposed on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as a weapon of genocide."
The meeting was chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, at the request of the State of Palestine and with the support of member states, with the participation of Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ambassador Hossam Zaki.
The Kingdom was represented by its Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States, Ambassador Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Matar.
The resolution condemned Israel, the illegal occupying power, for transforming the Gaza Strip into a famine zone, subjecting the Palestinian people to deadly conditions, and using starvation as a weapon of war and a form of genocide against the Palestinian people.
He called on the international community to take immediate action, in accordance with international humanitarian law, to halt the aggression, acknowledge the catastrophe and famine in the Gaza Strip, break the siege imposed on the Strip, ensure the delivery of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, and activate international accountability mechanisms for Israeli crimes.
The Arab League Council stressed the importance of implementing the decisions of the Arab and Islamic Summit to end the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, impose the entry of Arab, Islamic, and international humanitarian relief aid convoys, allow international organizations to enter the Strip, protect their staff, enable them to fully perform their roles, and support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The Council called on the international community, particularly the United States, to pressure Israel, the illegal occupying power, to open the crossings and allow the entry of all humanitarian and medical aid to save thousands of children, women, and the elderly, and to immediately and unconditionally halt the genocide committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
He expressed his condemnation and categorical rejection of the work of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and any other similar mechanism, arguing that these mechanisms lack legal and moral legitimacy and are used as a humanitarian cover for aggressive policies that transform aid into a tool of repression, death traps, and starvation against the civilian population. He also held the parties sponsoring them fully legally responsible for the crimes committed through them.
The Council considered the aggressive policies and practices of the Israeli occupation aimed at displacing the Palestinian people and deporting them from their land, as well as the forced transfer and ethnic cleansing they have been subjected to, and the creation of expulsive living conditions for the population through widespread destruction, collective punishment, starvation, and the denial of access to food, water, medicine, and humanitarian and relief aid, as a form of the crime of genocide, according to the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The resolution condemned the Israeli occupation forces' targeting of Islamic and Christian places of worship, and the recent attack on the Latin Church in Gaza City, which resulted in a number of deaths, injuries, and extensive damage to the church building. This constitutes a deliberate targeting of places of worship, hospitals, schools, and shelters.
The Council condemned the continued implementation by Israel, the occupying power, of punitive economic, financial, and financial measures against the State of Palestine, including the withholding of tax funds, in a clear attempt to undermine the work of the Palestinian government and paralyze its ability to fulfill its obligations towards the Palestinian people. It called for pressure to release Palestinian tax funds immediately and to provide an urgent, transparent financial safety net, in accordance with agreed-upon mechanisms, to enable the State of Palestine to carry out its vital duties towards its people.
The Council welcomed the statement issued on 2025/7/21 by (28) countries, including (21) member states of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Japan, Norway and New Zealand, regarding the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and what it included of a clear demand to end the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and immediately stop the policy of genocide, end the policy of systematic starvation, ensure accountability for perpetrators of crimes against the Palestinian people, and impose sanctions on the Israeli occupation, its leaders and terrorist settler militias.
In this context, the Council stressed the need for immediate recognition of the State of Palestine, as this is a legal and moral step that contributes to protecting the rights of the Palestinian people.
The Arab League Council expressed solidarity with UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and other officials from international organizations who are facing increasing pressure and harassment as a result of their support for the Palestinian people and their exposure of the crimes of genocide committed by Israel, the occupying power.
The Council called on the international community to continue its field efforts to lift the siege imposed by Israel, the occupying power, on the Gaza Strip, and commended the efforts of civil society in this regard.
The resolution requested the two non-permanent Arab members of the Security Council, Algeria and Somalia, to continue working to hold an emergency session of the Security Council and demand the issuance of a resolution obligating Israel to end the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and allow the entry of humanitarian aid.
He also requested the Arab League missions and the Arab Ambassadors' Councils to convey the contents of this resolution to their accredited capitals.
It was decided to keep the Council in session and to request the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to work to implement the provisions of this resolution and submit a report on this matter to the next session of the Council of the League of Arab States.
(is over)
