Muslim-Arab summit demands Israel take steps to end Gaza and Lebanon conflicts

Arab and Muslim leaders called for concrete steps to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon when they met in an extraordinary summit in Riyadh on Monday.
Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman opened the 22-member Arab League and 57-member Organisation of Islamic Co-operation gathering by demanding Israel immediately cease its “military aggression” and blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
He condemned Israel’s campaign in Gaza as “genocide”, and castigated Israel’s decision to ban the UN Palestinian relief agency Unrwa. He urged states to recognise a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital, and demanded respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Arab League secretary general Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the “actions taken by Israel against the Palestinian people are undermining efforts to achieve lasting peace”.
Lebanon’s prime minister Najib Mikati said his country was going through an unprecedented historical and existential crisis that threatened its presence and its future.
The crown prince argued the situation had seriously worsened since the two organisations’ first joint summit a year ago. This formed a ministerial committee that met with world leaders and officials to secure international support for an immediate ceasefire and restoration of essential services to Gaza. As this effort failed, the second summit has approved a roadmap to achieve these objectives.
Anna Jacobs, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group think tank,
told news agency AFP that Monday’s summit was “an opportunity for regional leaders to signal to the incoming Trump administration what they want in terms of US engagement. The message will likely be one of dialogue, de-escalation and calling out Israeli military campaigns in the region.”
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Writing in the semi-official Arab News, prominent Emirati commentator Khalaf Habtoor said, “In a Middle East where security is paramount, [Donald] Trump’s focus on strengthening alliances and curbing extremist forces offers a way forward.”
The summit coincided with the 30-day deadline given by the Biden administration in an October 13th letter requiring Israel to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza to 350 trucks a day, ensure daily pauses in fighting for aid deliveries, allow Palestinians sheltering on the coast to move inland ahead of winter, and end forced evacuation from northern Gaza. If Israel failed to meet these demands, Washington warned of consequences – possibly disruption of weapons supplies.
Israel has so far failed to deliver. Washington’s influence in the region generally is seen by Arabs and Muslims to have waned during the Biden administration due to its support for Israel’s offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.
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Meanwhile, marking an advance in relations between the former regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, Saudi military chief Fayyad Al-Ruwaili met Iran’s Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri in Tehran to discuss co-operation to bolster military and defence relations and to promote regional stability, according to Saudi and Iranian defence ministry statements. In March 2023, after a seven-year break in relations, China had brokered reconciliation between the regional heavyweights.