Top Arab Leaders slammed Israel at OIC Summit on Gaza

Top Arab Leaders slammed Israel at OIC Summit on Gaza

During the emergency meeting in Riyadh, Arab leaders and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi strongly condemned Israel's actions in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Saudi Arabia, hosting the summit, held Israel responsible for the crimes against the Palestinian people.

Host Saudi Arabia “confirms that it holds the occupation (Israeli) authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the summit.

“We are certain that the only way to guarantee security, peace and stability in the region is to end the occupation, siege and the settlements,” he said of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, on his first trip to Saudi Arabia since the two countries mended ties in March, said Islamic countries should designate the Israeli army a “terrorist organisation” for its conduct in Gaza.

“The US has prevented the ceasefire in Gaza and is expanding the scope of the war,” Raisi said before departing from Tehran.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the summit that “it is a shame that Western countries, which always talk about human rights and freedoms, remain silent in the face of the ongoing massacres in Palestine.”

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, for his part, said Washington had “the greatest influence on Israel” and “bears responsibility for the absence of a political solution” to the conflict.