Cairo (UNA/WAFA) – The Arab League Council at the level of foreign ministers affirmed its categorical rejection of any form of displacement of the Palestinian people and considered it a crime of genocide.
This came in a statement issued by the 163rd session of the Arab Foreign Ministers' Conference, held at the General Secretariat headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and chaired by Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi.
The Council called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in confronting any displacement of the Palestinian people as a result of Israeli practices, as well as to assume its responsibilities in implementing the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the construction of the racist separation wall and referring the wall file to the International Criminal Court, in preparation for its inclusion among war crimes that violate international law.
He warned against the systematic and illegal plans of the Israeli occupation government to increase the number of Israeli colonial settlers to one million, with the aim of creating a complex fait accompli that undermines the foundations of peace and the two-state solution, and consolidates the apartheid regime imposed by Israel, the occupying power, on the Palestinian people, and strongly condemns the settlement expansion aimed at building nearly a thousand settlement units in East Jerusalem.
He condemned the crimes of aggression and genocide that Israel, the illegal occupying power, continues to commit against the Palestinian people for more than 565 days, by targeting more than 165 Palestinian civilians between martyrs, wounded and missing, and subjecting the Palestinian people to starvation and a deadly siege that cuts off all means of life in the Gaza Strip, and the systematic destruction of residential neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, universities, mosques, churches, vital infrastructure, health, relief and civil defense systems in the Gaza Strip, and other civilian objects protected under international law, especially international humanitarian law, in light of the hate speech, racism and incitement practiced by the Israeli occupation government, which constitutes evidence of a prior intent to commit the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people.
The Council of the Arab League expressed its categorical rejection of any form of displacement of the Palestinian people from or within their land, under any name, circumstance, justification or pretext, considering this to be part of the crime of genocide and a gross violation of international law. It also condemned the policies of starvation and scorched earth aimed at forcing the Palestinian people to leave their land, while stressing the need to oblige Israel, the occupying power, to abide by the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, which reject any attempts to change the demographic composition of the Palestinian territory.
He also strongly condemned the illegal occupying power for its refusal to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for the immediate, unconditional and widespread delivery of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip, including resolutions 2735 (2024), 2728 (2024), 2712 (2023) and 2720 (2023), as well as its refusal to comply with the International Court of Justice's orders for provisional measures to prevent the crime of genocide.
He called on the Security Council to adopt a resolution under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter that ensures Israel, the occupying power, complies with relevant Council resolutions regarding an immediate ceasefire and the genocide against the Palestinian people, the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, the implementation of the orders and advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice, and the prevention of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land.
The Council strongly condemned the systematic and widespread Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, including the systematic destruction of Palestinian refugee camps and their infrastructure, as well as the daily Israeli incursions into dozens of Palestinian cities, villages and camps, the terrorizing of Israeli settlers, the killing and wounding of hundreds of Palestinian citizens, the demolition, burning and destruction of homes, farms and properties, the arrest and torture of thousands of Palestinians in inhumane conditions, the establishment of hundreds of additional Israeli checkpoints that have cut off Palestinian cities, camps and villages from each other, and the Israeli apartheid wall that dismantles the geographical unity of the Palestinian territory.
The ministers also strongly condemned the brutal Israeli aggression that targeted the comprehensive destruction of Rafah Governorate, besieging families inside the city and forcing dozens of families to be forcibly displaced on foot and leave the city amidst a barrage of rockets and artillery shells, field executions of paramedics, civil defense personnel, rescue and relief crews, and the continued control of the Israeli occupation army over the Rafah land crossing and the Salah al-Din (Philadelphi) axis. They also condemned Israel’s attempts to establish a new axis (Morag axis) in the Palestinian city of Rafah, which aims to displace the Palestinian people from their land, in violation of international principles and laws.
The Council of the League also affirmed its support for the vision of the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, regarding the importance of achieving national unity based on commitment to the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, its political program, its international obligations, the principle of one system, one law, and one legitimate weapon, and enabling the government of the State of Palestine to assume the responsibilities of governance in the Gaza Strip, within the framework of the political and geographical unity of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, and stressing that the democratic option and resorting to the ballot box is the only way to respect the will of the people to choose their representatives through general elections, presidential and legislative, to be held within a year in all of the Palestinian territory, in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, and calling for the provision of appropriate conditions for this.
The Council called for concerted efforts by the international community, including countries and international and regional organizations, to compel Israel, the occupying power, to end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territory along the lines of 4/6/1967, to completely eliminate its effects, to pay compensation for its damages as soon as possible, to implement all the provisions of the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on 19/7/2024, and to implement United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 24/10-A/RES/ES of 18/9/2024, which adopted the outcomes of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice.
The ministers condemned Israel for establishing a military administration to facilitate the displacement of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip under the misleading pretext of "voluntary migration," revealing a deliberate plan to empty the Strip of its population and alter its demographic makeup, paving the way for the systematic liquidation of the Palestinian cause.
The ministers stressed that the Israeli occupation government's implementation of its plans to annex any part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 constitutes a new Israeli war crime.
The Council called on the international community to exert pressure and impose deterrent punitive measures on Israel, the occupying power, to compel it to halt its illegal colonial annexation and settlement plans and practices that undermine the chances of achieving peace and the two-state solution.
The Council of the League urged the International Court of Justice to expedite its decision on the case filed by the Republic of South Africa against Israel, accusing it of failing to fulfill its obligations under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It stressed the importance of the Court’s conclusion that the Palestinian people are protected under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and obligated Israel, the occupying power, to implement the provisional measures ordered by the Court on 26/1/2024, 28/3/2024, and 24/5/2024, to stop the killing of Palestinian civilians and their physical and mental harm, to stop preventing births, and to stop the flow of relief and medical aid to the entire Gaza Strip. It expressed its appreciation to the states that joined the case, and urged peace-loving states that adhere to international law to join it.
He called on all states to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in implementing the arrest warrants it has issued against Israeli officials responsible for committing crimes against the Palestinian people, which fall within the court's jurisdiction.
The Council of the League urged the International Criminal Court to complete a criminal investigation into the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the defenseless Palestinian people, including the crimes of settlement and annexation, genocide and aggression against Gaza, the killing of civilians, journalists and paramedics, and the forced displacement of Palestinians. It appreciated the efforts of the states, organizations and individuals that submitted referrals and complaints to the Court regarding these crimes, and urged states keen on ensuring justice for victims and preventing impunity for perpetrators to submit more referrals of the situation in Palestine to the Court.
He also expressed his condemnation of Hungary's failure to implement the decisions of the International Criminal Court and its withdrawal from it, which constitutes a serious regression from its legal obligations under the Rome Statute, undermines international efforts to achieve justice and hold perpetrators of serious crimes accountable, and provides a dangerous political cover for impunity.
He urged human rights associations, lawyers' unions, civil society organizations, and Arab and Islamic communities in countries with universal jurisdiction to file a lawsuit against war criminals and members of the occupation army who participated in committing crimes against the Palestinian people.
The Council affirmed the implementation of the Arab summit resolutions to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and to allow the entry of sufficient humanitarian and relief aid into the entire Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air.
The Council of the League also condemned Israel, the occupying power, for violating the ceasefire agreement reached through Egyptian, Qatari and American efforts. It supported the completion of the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in its second and third phases, leading to a permanent cessation of aggression against Gaza and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, ensuring safe, adequate and timely access to humanitarian, shelter and medical aid, without hindrance, and the distribution of such aid throughout the Strip, and facilitating the return of the people of the Strip to their areas and homes.
The foreign ministers called on the United States to review its biased positions towards Israel and to work diligently and sincerely with the concerned parties to implement the two-state solution on the June 1967, XNUMX lines, and to enable the Palestinian people to determine their fate in their independent, sovereign, viable and geographically contiguous state. They called on the United States to pressure Israel to end its occupation and cease its unilateral actions that are destroying the two-state solution. They also called on the United States to reverse its illegal transfer of its embassy to occupied Jerusalem, reopen its consulate general in occupied East Jerusalem, cancel the designation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, as a terrorist organization, and reopen the organization's mission in Washington.
He stressed the necessity of adopting and supporting the right of the State of Palestine to full membership in the United Nations, and calling on the Security Council to accept this membership, in accordance with the contents of United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. A/ES-10/L.30 dated 9/5/2024, and calling on states that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to immediately recognize it, and calling for the launch of a constructive and intensive dialogue between the League of Arab States and states that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine, with the aim of completing the path towards its recognition, and adopting and supporting the right of the State of Palestine to join international organizations and conventions, in line with the principle of sovereign equality among states in the international community.
The Council of the League called on all countries to provide political, financial and legal support for the Arab-Islamic plan adopted by the Arab Summit on March 4, 2025, and by the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on March 7, 2025, in Jeddah, regarding recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, within the framework of a political process that leads to the realization of the independence of the State of Palestine, ensures the consolidation of the Palestinian people on their land, confronts attempts to displace them, and enables them to exercise all their legitimate rights. It urged countries and international and regional financing institutions to quickly provide the necessary financial support to implement the plan.
He called on the Arab Ministerial Committee in Support of the State of Palestine, chaired by the Kingdom of Bahrain, in its capacity as President of the 33rd Arab Summit, to continue its work by moving at the international level to support the efforts of the State of Palestine to obtain further recognition and full membership in the United Nations, hold an international peace conference, and provide international protection for the Palestinian people. He also called on coordination within the framework of the Joint Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee to conduct contacts and make the necessary visits to international capitals to explain the Arab plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and to express the position adhering to the right of the Palestinian people to remain on their land and their right to self-determination.
The Council of the League welcomed the convening of an international conference in Cairo, as soon as possible, for the recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, in cooperation and coordination with the State of Palestine and the United Nations. It urged the international community to participate in it to accelerate the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after the destruction caused by the Israeli aggression, and to work on establishing a trust fund to receive financial pledges from all donor countries and funding institutions, with the aim of implementing recovery and reconstruction projects.
He affirmed his support for efforts to convene a high-level international conference to achieve a two-state solution and realize the independence of the State of Palestine, in accordance with international references, under the joint chairmanship of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France, next June at the United Nations headquarters.
He also stressed the inclusion of the list of extremist Israeli organizations and groups that storm the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and are linked to the Israeli colonial settlement, as stated in the report of the Permanent Representatives Committee dated 30/1/2024, on the Arab national terrorism lists, and the announcement of the list of shame included in the report of the aforementioned committee for the Israeli figures who spread the discourse of genocide and incitement against the Palestinian people, in preparation for taking legal action against them and holding them accountable at the level of national and international courts.
The Council of the League reaffirmed its commitment to a just and comprehensive peace as a strategic option to end the Israeli occupation and resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in accordance with international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions, including Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 497 (1981), 1515 (2003), and 2334 (2016), the principle of land for peace, and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. It also affirmed that security and peace in the region can only be achieved by ending the Israeli colonial occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and of the occupied Syrian Golan, and called on the international community to take irreversible steps to realize the independence of the State of Palestine and implement a political solution based on international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.
He stressed adherence to the Arab Peace Initiative with all its elements and priorities, as it is the unified Arab consensus position and the basis of any efforts to revive peace in the Middle East. The initiative stipulates that the precondition for peace with Israel and the normalization of relations with it is the end of its occupation of all Palestinian and Arab territories, including the occupied Syrian Golan, the Shebaa Farms, the Kfar Shuba Hills, and the outskirts of the occupied Lebanese town of Al-Mari. This is in addition to the realization of the independence of the independent State of Palestine with full sovereignty on the June 4, 1967, lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, the right of return and compensation for Palestinian refugees, and a just resolution of their issue in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948.
The ministers affirmed that any peace plan that is not consistent with international terms of reference for the Middle East peace process is unacceptable and will not succeed. They also rejected any political or financial pressure exerted on the Palestinian people and their leadership with the aim of imposing unjust solutions to the Palestinian issue.
The Council also affirmed its support for the peace plan presented by President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, in his speeches before the UN Security Council and General Assembly, including the contents of his speech before the 79th session of the General Assembly, and to work with the International Quartet and active international parties to establish a credible multilateral international mechanism to end the illegal Israeli occupation and achieve peace based on international law, international legitimacy resolutions, the principle of land for peace and the two-state solution, within a specific timeframe and under international oversight, leading to the end of the Israeli occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory and the realization of the independence of the State of Palestine on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, including through the convening of an international conference for this purpose.
He condemned the export, provision or transfer of weapons, ammunition and military products to Israel, the occupying power, which uses them in the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people. He called on states that continue to provide or export weapons and ammunition to Israel, which are used to kill Palestinian civilians and destroy their homes, hospitals, schools, universities, mosques, churches, infrastructure and all their capabilities, to stop doing so so that they will not be considered complicit in the responsibility for these crimes. He urged states that have citizens participating in the Israeli occupation army and its crimes against the Palestinian people to take the necessary legal measures to hold them accountable and prevent them from doing so.
He also condemned the targeting of workers, facilities, and vehicles of international organizations working in the relief and humanitarian fields, including the targeting of UNRWA buildings, and held Israel fully responsible for these crimes, which reflect the Israeli occupation forces' approach to dealing with UN employees and workers in the global relief, humanitarian, and medical fields.
The Council of the League of Arab States commended the efforts of the non-permanent Arab member of the Security Council, the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, in following up on developments in the Palestinian issue in the Security Council, halting the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, achieving a ceasefire, and securing full membership for the State of Palestine in the United Nations.
He affirmed his support for all steps taken by the Arab Republic of Egypt to confront the repercussions of the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza, and his support for its efforts to deliver immediate, sustainable, and adequate aid to the Strip. He also endorsed the steps taken by Egypt to defend the rights of the Palestinian people and its national security, which is an essential part of Arab national security.
The Council welcomed the recent Human Rights Council resolutions affirming the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, demanding accountability, an end to impunity, and condemning the settlement system. It also welcomed the Human Rights Council's extension of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Ms. Francesca Albanese, and expressed appreciation for her positions and reports, which are consistent with international law.
The ministers affirmed that all necessary measures will be taken to ensure the boycott of all companies and business establishments operating in Israeli colonial settlements and with the Israeli colonial occupation regime in the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied in 1967, as listed in the updated database issued by the Human Rights Council on June 30, 6, and to hold these companies accountable for the consequences of their illegal actions.
He strongly condemned the policies and practices of Israeli colonial settlement construction and expansion, and called on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities towards the actual implementation of its Resolution No. 2334 of 2016 and not to be satisfied with listening to reports on Israeli violations thereof, and to work to hold accountable those who violate the resolution, and to confront and stop the construction and expansion of illegal settlements, the annexation and expansion wall, the forced displacement of the Palestinian population and the demolition of their properties, and to emphasize that boycotting the Israeli occupation and its colonial system is one of the effective and legitimate means to resist and end it and achieve peace, and to call on all countries, institutions, companies and individuals to stop all forms of dealing with the Israeli colonial occupation system and its settlements that violate international law, including prohibiting the entry of illegal Israeli settlers into countries, and to reject all attempts to criminalize this boycott and silence voices under the pretext of “anti-Semitism.”
He also condemned the apartheid system imposed and practiced by Israel, the occupying power, against the Palestinian people through systematic Israeli policies, legislation and plans aimed at persecuting, suppressing, dominating and dispersing the Palestinian people, undermining freedom of movement, disrupting family life, forced displacement, unlawful killing, administrative detention, torture, deprivation of basic freedoms and rights, undermining political participation, suppressing the economy and human development, expropriating land and property, and other Israeli racist practices against the Palestinian people, which constitute a crime against humanity and a flagrant violation of relevant international laws, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. He stressed the importance of reports and resolutions by local and international human rights institutions, parliaments and churches that expose, with legal evidence, the Israeli apartheid system, and called on the international community to confront the Israeli apartheid system against the Palestinian people.
The League Council appreciated the Egyptian and Algerian efforts to achieve Palestinian national reconciliation.
He affirmed his support for Palestinian efforts and endeavors aimed at achieving justice for the Palestinian people for the current and historical injustice they have suffered, and holding accountable those responsible for all crimes committed against them through international justice mechanisms. He also called for the provision of legal advice and the necessary technical and financial support for these endeavors.
He called on the Legal Advisory Committee, formed pursuant to a decision by the Arab Summit within the framework of the League of Arab States, to carry out its assigned tasks in this regard.
He affirmed his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, condemned Israel's systematic racist policy of enacting discriminatory legislation that undermines the historical rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and the right of refugees to return, and saluted and supported the steadfastness of the Palestinians inside Israel in 1948.
The foreign ministers affirmed the implementation of the decisions of the League Council at the summit and ministerial levels regarding confronting the Israeli targeting of the Palestinian cause and Arab national security in Africa. They also reaffirmed their rejection of Israel, the occupying power, obtaining observer status in the African Union, called on sister and friendly states in the African Union to continue their efforts to prevent Israel from obtaining such membership, and emphasized the strengthening of work with the African Union to support the Palestinian cause and its resolutions in international forums.
The Council of the League called for the continuation of joint Arab and Islamic action at the level of governments, parliaments, and unions to support the Palestinian cause. It also called for the Secretary-General of the League to continue to consult and coordinate with the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on various issues and measures related to the Palestinian cause, as well as mechanisms for implementing Arab and Islamic resolutions in this regard.
The Council commended the international and popular positions supporting the Palestinian cause and condemning the crime of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, as well as the diplomatic and legal efforts undertaken by countries and human rights organizations within international and national justice mechanisms, including the efforts of the Republic of South Africa to prosecute Israel before the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide. It urged peace-loving countries committed to international law to join these efforts and legal initiatives.
The Council called for the continued mandate of the two Arab groups in the Human Rights Council and UNESCO to support and monitor the implementation of this resolution and the resolutions of Palestine in both organizations.
The Foreign Ministers tasked the Arab Group at the United Nations with mobilizing support for the resolutions related to the Palestinian issue in the General Assembly, and pursuing efforts within the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security, ending the occupation, and halting all illegal Israeli practices. They also tasked the Council with initiating steps to freeze Israel’s participation in the UN General Assembly, based on its failure to adhere to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, its threat to international peace and security, and its failure to fulfill its obligations that were a condition for its membership in the United Nations, based on the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on July 19, 7. They also tasked the Arab Group at the United Nations with following up on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2024 (2334) on illegal Israeli settlements, and following up on the State of Palestine’s obtaining full membership in the United Nations, in addition to taking all necessary measures to confront Israel’s candidacy for membership or for a position in the United Nations bodies and committees, and confronting attempts to undermine resolutions related to the Palestinian issue.
The ministers requested the Secretary-General to follow up on the implementation of this resolution and submit a report on the measures taken in this regard to the next session of the Council.
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