Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler condemned Israel’s “genocide” against Palestinians, speaking at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders on Monday.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at an Arab Islamic summit late last month, echoing comments by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, that “the Kingdom expresses its condemnation and unequivocal condemnation of the genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people.” Repeats the rejection.”
He urged the international community to stop Israel from attacking Iran and respect Iran’s sovereignty.
The crown prince said in September that the kingdom would not recognize Israel until a Palestinian state was created.
The administration of US President Joe Biden had sought to broker a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel that would include US security guarantees for the kingdom in addition to other bilateral deals between Washington and Riyadh.
Normalization efforts were put on hold after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza and the subsequent Israeli retaliation.
At a news conference later on Monday, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit pointed to an article in the summit’s closing statement that proposed suspending Israel’s membership in the UN General Assembly.
He said that banning membership would not fall within the jurisdiction of the Security Council and could be decided by the General Assembly.
“We may soon see the confiscation of (Israel’s) membership through a UNGA majority decision,” Abul Gheit said.
The summit’s concluding statement called for all countries to ban the export or transfer of arms and ammunition to Israel and urged the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for civilian and military officials in Israel.
Israel’s military offensive on Gaza over the past 13 months has killed thousands of people, displaced almost its entire population, sparked a famine and led to accusations of genocide at the World Court, which Israel denies.
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