Following the “Cairo Summit for Peace”, held in Cairo on October 21, 2023, and in light of the continued escalation that began on Saturday, October 7, 2023 in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, especially in the Gaza Strip, with regards to the continued deaths of innocent civilians, and the flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law;
The Foreign Ministers of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Kingdom of Morocco issued the following statement on October 26, 2023:
? Condemning and rejecting all acts of violence and terrorism against civilians and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and facilities, in addition to all violations of the international humanitarian law and the international human rights law by any party.
? Condemning individual or collective forced displacement, as well as the policy of collective punishment.
? Confirming the rejection of any attempts to solve the Palestinian issue at the expense of the Palestinian people or the people of the region, or through displacing the Palestinian people by any means, as it is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime.
? Affirming the need for full adherence to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, especially when it comes to the responsibilities of the occupation, asserting the importance of the immediate release of civilian hostages and detainees, and ensuring that they are provided with safe, dignified and humane treatment consistent with international law, in addition to emphasising the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in this regard.
? Emphasising that the right to self-defence guaranteed by the United Nations Charter does not justify flagrant violations of international law and international humanitarian law, or the deliberate neglect of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, and the end of the decades-long occupation.
? Calling upon the UN Security Council to compel the parties to an immediate and sustainable ceasefire.
? Emphasising that failure to recognise the flagrant violations of international humanitarian law serves as permission for the continuation of these practices, and complicity in committing them.
? Demanding more efforts to ensure and facilitate fast, safe and sustainable access of humanitarian aid to Gaza without obstacles in accordance with relevant humanitarian principles, and to mobilise additional resources in cooperation with the United Nations and its affiliated organisations and agencies, especially UNRWA.
? Expressing concern about the possibility of the current confrontations and conflict expanding to other regions in the Middle East, calling on all parties to exercise utmost restraint, and stressing that the expansion of this conflict will have serious consequences for the people of the region and for international peace and security.
? Expressing concern about the escalation of violence in the West Bank, calling on the international community to support and strengthen the Palestinian National Authority, and to provide financial support to the Palestinian people through Palestinian institutions.
? Emphasising that the absence of a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has led to repeated acts of violence and suffering for the Palestinian and Israeli people and the people of the region in general, stressing the importance of the international community, especially the Security Council, to assume their responsibilities in order to achieve peace in the Middle East, calling for genuine collective efforts to resolve the conflict through the implementation of the two-state solution on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions, ensuring the establishment of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state with contiguous territory, on the pre-June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Source: Bahrain News Agency