In Riyadh, Saturday, November 11, Arab and Muslim leaders put aside their enmities and differences to display a united front to condemn the war that Israel has been waging in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
The sudden return of the Palestinian question to Arab and Muslim consciousness, and the wait-and-see attitude of the Western camp, locked in unconditional support for Israel, called for a strong response from them. The old fractures that cross the Middle East nevertheless remain, preventing the articulation of a common vision to end the war and draw a diplomatic horizon for the “day after”.
The extraordinary joint summit of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), gathered under the auspices of the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed Ben Salman, known as “MBS”, is in itself unprecedented. In line with the diplomatic activism he deploys on numerous issues, the young prince took on his role as leader of the Arab-Muslim world by inviting his allies – King Abdullah II of Jordan, the president of the Authority Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas, or even Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi – and his rivals – Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani – to mobilize for Gaza.
With one voice, dozens of Arab and Muslim leaders condemned, in a final declaration, “Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, war crimes and barbaric and inhumane massacres perpetrated by the occupation government”.
They call for an immediate ceasefire, a lifting of the siege on Gaza and unhindered access for humanitarian aid. All reject the forced displacement of Palestinians from the enclave to Egypt or from the West Bank to Jordan and demand an end to arms exports to the Jewish state. They call for a relaunch of the peace process to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state, alongside Israel.
Divergences
Each of these leaders had harsh words for Israel and its Western supporters. Mohammed Ben Salman, who was still delighted in September with the progress in normalization with Israel, denounced a “barbarian war”. He said hold “the occupation authorities [israéliennes] responsible for crimes committed against the Palestinian people” and deplored “the incapacity of the Security Council [des Nations unies] and the international community to put an end to Israel’s flagrant violations of international laws. » “We are certain that the only way to guarantee security, peace and stability in the region is to end the occupation, siege and colonization”he added.
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