Attendants at the meeting affirmed the urgent need to open all border crossings with Gaza to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.
A ministerial meeting involving the Arab League Contact Group on Gaza, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and several European Union ministers, called for an immediate ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi Route.
Attendants included Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye — all members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza — as well as the heads of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Additionally, the European Union was represented by its foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, along with the foreign ministers of Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain.
Hoy en Madrid nos reunimos países que desde el comienzo del conflicto en Gaza nos hemos posicionado a favor de la legalidad internacional y de los esfuerzos de paz.
Avanzamos para impulsar una voz conjunta, unida en torno a la aplicación de la solución de dos Estados. pic.twitter.com/GtwBujaa6X
— José Manuel Albares (@jmalbares) September 13, 2024
In a statement issued on Friday, the attendants reaffirmed their support of the ongoing negotiations efforts to achieve a ceasefire “in the midst of the worst crisis in the Middle East in decades”.
“We reiterate our call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees,” the statement said.
“We also call for the full restoration of Palestinian Authority control over the Rafah crossing and the rest of the borders, and a full withdrawal of Israeli occupying forces from Gaza, including from the Philadelphi Corridor,” the statement added.
Attendants at the meeting affirmed the urgent need to open all border crossings with Gaza to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid to enter the besieged Gaza Strip and commended the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other United Nations agencies in service of the Palestinians in Gaza.
“We urge all parties to implement their obligations under international humanitarian law and implement the orders of the International Court of Justice,” the statement said.
On the intensive Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, the ministers warned against the escalation and demanded that Israel halt all its operations against the Palestinians.
The ministers criticized Israel’s illegal activities in the Palestinian occupied territories including “settlement activities, land confiscation and displacement of Palestinians”, which undermine any prospects of peace.
They also called on preserving the legal and historical status of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.
“We call for the credible and irreversible implementation of the two-state solution in accordance with international law and agreed parameters, including the Arab Peace Initiative, to achieve a just and lasting peace,” they said in the statement.
The peace, they explained, should meet “the rights of the Palestinian people”, ensure “the security of Israel” and achieve “normal relations in a region of stability, security, peace and cooperation”.
Attendants of the meeting also urged all United Nations members to join the expanded meeting on “the situation in Gaza and the implementation of the two-state solution as a path to a just and comprehensive peace”, which is scheduled on September 26, on the margins of the next session of the United Nations General Assembly, according to the statement.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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