Ashraf AboArafe
The Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit (EAIS), which concluded its work in Riyadh today, issued the following resolution:
We, the leaders of the states and governments of the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, gathered at the kind invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and based on our decision to merge the extraordinary Arab and Islamic summits that the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation had decided to organize at the request of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people on November 11, 2023; we are meeting today in the city of Riyadh in response to the escalating events, and after consultations conducted by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the request of the State of Palestine and some member states, and with the kind hospitality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; While we emphasize the centrality of the Palestinian cause and the firm support for the Palestinian people to achieve their legitimate and inalienable national rights, foremost among which is their right to freedom and an independent, sovereign state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of refugees to return and compensation in accordance with the relevant international legitimacy resolutions, especially Resolution 194, and to confront any attempts to deny or undermine these rights; and that the Palestinian cause, like all just causes of peoples struggling to be freed from occupation and achieve their rights. Reaffirming the full sovereignty of the State of Palestine over occupied East Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Palestine, and rejecting any Israeli decisions or measures aimed at Judaizing it and consolidating its colonial occupation, as null and void and illegitimate under international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, and that Al-Quds Al-Sharif is a red line for the Arab and Islamic nations, and our absolute solidarity in protecting the Arab and Islamic identity of occupied East Jerusalem and in defending the sanctity of the Islamic and Christian holy sites therein, and affirming our absolute support for the Lebanese Republic, its security, stability, sovereignty and the safety of its citizens.
We decide:
1- Emphasizing the decisions issued by the first extraordinary joint summit in Riyadh in November 2023, and renewing the confrontation with the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and working to end its disastrous humanitarian repercussions on civilians; Children, women, elderly and unarmed civilians, and to continue to move, in coordination with the international community, to put an end to the serious Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law, and Israel’s endangerment of regional and international peace and security. Reaffirming the decisions of the 33rd Arab Summit, held in the Kingdom of Bahrain in May 2024, and the 15th Islamic Summit, held in the Republic of Gambia in May 2024.
2- Warning of the danger of the escalation sweeping the region and its regional and international consequences, and of the expansion of the aggression that has exceeded a year on the Gaza Strip, and extended to include the Lebanese Republic, and of violating the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran, without decisive measures from the United Nations and with the failure of international legitimacy.
3- Emphasizing the implementation of all relevant resolutions issued by the United Nations General Assembly, including Resolution No. A/RES/ES-10/22 on the protection of civilians and adherence to legal and humanitarian obligations dated December 10, 2023, and the resolutions issued by the Security Council, and the need for the Security Council to take a binding resolution, under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, to compel Israel, the occupying power, to cease fire in the Gaza Strip, and to provide immediate and adequate humanitarian aid to all areas of the Strip, and to implement Security Council Resolutions 2735 (2024), 2728 (2024), 2720 (2023), 2712 (2023), which call for taking urgent steps to immediately allow the delivery of humanitarian aid in a broad, safe and unhindered manner, and Resolution No. 2728, which calls for a ceasefire, as well as resolutions affirming the right of the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination, national independence and the right of refugees to return, and resolutions affirming the permanent responsibility To the United Nations on the Palestinian issue until it is resolved in all its aspects; and to demand the Security Council to respond to the international consensus expressed in the United Nations General Assembly resolution dated May 10, 2024 that the State of Palestine is qualified for full membership in the United Nations by issuing a resolution granting the State of Palestine full membership in the United Nations, and urging member states to mobilize the necessary support to adopt the resolution.
4- Affirming support for the great and appreciated efforts made by the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar in cooperation with the United States of America to achieve an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and release hostages and prisoners, and holding Israel responsible for the failure of these efforts as a result of the Israeli government’s withdrawal from the agreements reached by the negotiators.
5- Calling on the international community to implement all the contents of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice dated July 19, 2024 towards ending the Israeli occupation and removing its effects, and paying compensation for its damages, as soon as possible.
6- Condemning the crime of enforced disappearance committed by the Israeli occupation forces since the beginning of the current aggression against thousands of Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip and throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, including children, women and sheikhs, in addition to the abuse, repression, torture and degrading treatment they are subjected to, and calling on the member states of the United Nations to work at all levels to uncover the fate of the kidnapped, work to release them immediately, ensure their protection, and demand an independent and transparent investigation into this crime, including the execution of some of the kidnapped.
7- Condemning in the strongest terms the horrific and shocking crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip in the context of the crime of genocide, including mass graves, the crime of torture, field execution, enforced disappearance, looting, and ethnic cleansing, especially in the northern Gaza Strip during the past weeks, and calling on the Security Council to form an independent and credible international investigation committee to investigate these crimes, and take serious steps to prevent the obliteration of evidence and proof to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure that they do not escape punishment.
8- Strong condemnation of the continued and persistent Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the violation of its sovereignty and the sanctity of its territories, and the call for an immediate ceasefire, and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution No. 1701 (2006) in all its provisions, and the affirmation of solidarity with the Lebanese Republic in confronting this aggression. Strong condemnation of the deliberate targeting of the Lebanese army and its centers, which led to the fall of a number of martyrs and wounded in its ranks, as well as the killing of civilians, the systematic destruction of residential areas, the forced displacement of people, and the targeting of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Emphasis on supporting the Lebanese constitutional institutions in exercising their authority and extending the sovereignty of the Lebanese state over all its territories, and in this regard, stressing support for the Lebanese Armed Forces as the guarantor of Lebanon’s unity and stability, and emphasizing the importance of expediting the election of a president of the republic and the formation of a government based on the provisions of the Lebanese constitution and the implementation of the Taif Agreement. 9- Explicit condemnation of Israel’s deliberate attacks on UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, which constitute direct violations of the UN Charter, and calling on the UN Security Council to hold Israel accountable for ensuring the safety and security of UN peacekeeping forces operating under the banner of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
10- Rejection of the displacement of Palestinian citizens inside or outside their land, considering it a war crime and a flagrant violation of international law that we will confront together.
11- Condemning the policy of collective punishment pursued by Israel and the use of siege and starvation as a weapon against civilians in the Gaza Strip, and calling on the international community to take immediate practical steps to end the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the aggression, including forcing Israel to withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip and open all crossings between it and the Strip, and lifting all restrictions and obstacles to safe, rapid and unconditional humanitarian access to the Strip, in implementation of its obligations as the occupying power. In the same context, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the Rafah crossing and the Salah al-Din (Philadelphi) axis, and for the Palestinian National Authority to return to manage the Rafah crossing, and to resume work on the 2005 Movement and Access Agreement, in a manner that allows the regular work of relief organizations and the resumption of the flow of aid in a safe and effective manner.
12- Emphasizing the need to join efforts to implement the outcomes of the Emergency Humanitarian Response Conference in Gaza, hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, jointly organized with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Nations on June 11, 2024, and to mobilize the necessary support for the humanitarian conference that Cairo will host on December 2, 2024, in the context of efforts to provide adequate humanitarian support to the sector.
13- Calling on the international community to take effective action to compel Israel to respect international law, denouncing the double standards in the application of international law, international humanitarian law and the United Nations Charter, and warning that this double standard seriously undermines the credibility of the countries that fortify Israel and place it above accountability, the credibility of multilateral action, and exposes the selectivity of the application of the system of human values.
14- Welcome resolution A/RES/ES-10/24 issued by the General Assembly on September 18, 2024, which adopted the outcomes of the legal advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the illegality of the Israeli occupation.
15- Calling on all countries of the world, their legislative bodies, and all international institutions and organizations to abide by the resolutions of international legitimacy regarding the city of Jerusalem and its legal and historical status, as an integral part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967.
16- Strongly condemning the aggressive Israeli measures targeting Islamic and Christian holy sites in the city of Jerusalem and changing its Arab, Islamic and Christian identity, and calling on the international community to pressure Israel to stop them, and warning against the continuation of attacks on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including undermining the freedom of worship in the mosque, preventing worshipers from entering it, and its desecration, storming, desecration and vandalism of its contents by groups of Israeli settlers, and attempts aimed at changing the legal and historical status quo in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and dividing it temporally and spatially, and stressing that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, with its entire area of 144 thousand square meters, is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims, and that the Jerusalem Endowments and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Administration, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments, is the exclusive legitimate authority with jurisdiction to manage the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, maintain it and regulate entry to it, within the framework of the historical Hashemite guardianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem. 17- Requesting the Security Council to adopt a resolution obligating Israel to stop these illegal policies that threaten security and peace in the region, and to implement the relevant United Nations resolutions regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem, and to condemn any party’s recognition of Jerusalem.
The alleged capital of Israel, the occupying power, as an illegal and irresponsible measure, and an assault on the historical, legal and national rights of the Palestinian people and the Islamic nation, and considering that any step aimed at changing the legal status of the Holy City of Jerusalem is an illegal step and a serious violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions that must be immediately rescinded and reversed, and calling on any state that has taken steps that affect the existing legal and historical status in the City of Jerusalem to reverse these illegal steps, and stressing the need to work to establish the Jerusalemites on their land, including through supporting the Jerusalem Committee and its executive arm, the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency. 18- Start working to mobilize international support to freeze Israel’s participation in the United Nations General Assembly and its affiliated entities, in preparation for submitting a joint draft resolution to the General Assembly – the tenth special session (Uniting for Peace), on the basis of its violations of the United Nations Charter, its threat to international peace and security, and its failure to fulfill its membership obligations in the United Nations, and based on the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on July 19, 2024.
19- Calling on all countries to ban the export of weapons and ammunition to Israel; urging countries to join the initiative proposed by the Republic of Turkey and the core group consisting of (18) countries, which was signed by (52) countries, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States, and sending a joint letter to the UN Security Council, the President of the UN General Assembly and the UN Secretary-General in order to stop providing weapons to Israel, and calling on all countries to sign it.
20- Urging the International Criminal Court to quickly issue arrest warrants against Israeli civilian and military officials for committing crimes – falling within the jurisdiction of the court – against the Palestinian people.
21- Demanding the Security Council and the international community to take the necessary decisions, including imposing sanctions, to stop the escalating illegal Israeli measures in the occupied West Bank that undermine the two-state solution and kill all chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the region, criminalizing these colonial policies, and condemning the colonial policies pursued by the occupying power to annex any part of the occupied Palestinian territory by force for the purpose of expanding illegal settlement colonialism, and considering this a blatant and systematic attack on the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people, and a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, the principles of international law, and relevant United Nations resolutions.
22- Strongly condemning the terrorist acts committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinian citizens and their property, which are escalating in an organized manner with the support and armament of the Israeli occupation government and the protection of its forces, and calling for:
– Holding settlers accountable for the crimes they commit against the Palestinian people and their property.
– Classifying Israeli settlers and Jewish settlement movements as terrorist groups and organizations, including them on national and international terrorism lists, and working at all levels, including in the United Nations, specifically the Security Council, to hold Israeli leaders and settlers accountable for the crimes they commit.
– Boycotting the products of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, and the companies operating therein and included in the database issued by the Human Rights Council on 6/30/2023, and forming lists of shame that include the names of those companies as they feed the occupation and seek to perpetuate it.
– Calling on all countries of the world, including member states, to prevent settlers present in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, from entering it for any purpose, and to establish special mechanisms and measures to examine identification documents to verify their places of residence in cooperation with the State of Palestine, considering that they are participating in terrorist hostilities against the Palestinian people, their property and their lands.
– Calling on the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in cooperation with the State of Palestine, to prepare a list of the names of these groups and circulate it to the member states.
23- Calling on the active international parties to launch a plan with specific steps and timing under international sponsorship to end the occupation and establish an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital, based on the two-state solution, and in accordance with the approved references and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.
24- Emphasizing that a just and comprehensive peace in the region that guarantees security and stability for all its countries cannot be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation of all occupied Arab territories up to the line of June 4, 1967, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 with all its elements.
25- Thanking the countries that recognized the State of Palestine, calling on other countries to follow suit, and welcoming the “International Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution”, launched by the Joint Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, headed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in coordination with Arab and Islamic countries, and in cooperation with the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway in September 2024, in New York City, and holding its first meeting in Riyadh, and emphasizing the importance of supporting it, and calling on all peace-loving countries to join this alliance.
26- Working to mobilize international support for the State of Palestine to join the United Nations as a full member and supporting the appreciated and continuous efforts made by the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, in its capacity as a member of the Arab and Islamic organizations in the Security Council, to submit a draft resolution to accept this membership, in addition to its efforts to support the cause and unity of the Palestinian ranks.
27- Condemning the extremist and racist hateful actions and statements of ministers in the Israeli occupation government, and demanding that the international community hold them accountable in accordance with international law.
28- Condemning the continued attack by the Israeli occupation authorities and their representatives on the United Nations and its Secretary-General, as well as condemning the ban on the work of international committees and members of the Office of the High Commissioner (for Human Rights) and special rapporteurs from entering the territory of the State of Palestine, and its termination of the work of the International Presence Mission in Hebron, in clear violation of its obligations as an occupying power, and of the relevant United Nations resolutions, and demanding that the international community assume its responsibilities in providing protection as stipulated in the United Nations resolutions, and in accordance with what was proposed by the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in this regard.
29- Condemning the continued adoption and approval by the Israeli Knesset of racist and illegal laws, including the so-called law withdrawing the immunity granted to employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and preventing it from working in the occupied Palestinian territory and severing relations with it, and the decision to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state, and stressing that these laws and decisions are null and void and illegal, and calling on the member states of the United Nations to impose sanctions on Israel, the occupying power, to force it to comply with international law and international legitimacy resolutions, and calling on all states to provide effective political and financial support to the agency. 30- Calling for providing all forms of political and diplomatic support and international protection for the Palestinian people and the State of Palestine and achieving Palestinian national unity, effectively assuming its responsibilities over the entire occupied Palestinian territory, including the Gaza Strip, and unifying it with the West Bank, including the city of Jerusalem, and supporting the State of Palestine economically by supporting its efforts in humanitarian relief programs, economic recovery, and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and emphasizing the importance of continuing to support the budget of the State of Palestine and activating a transparent financial safety net according to mechanisms agreed upon, and requesting the international community to oblige the Israeli occupation authority to release the Palestinian tax revenues withheld immediately and in full. 31- Supporting the ongoing efforts of the Arab Republic of Egypt to achieve Palestinian unity at this critical stage, and enabling the Palestinian government to carry out its responsibilities and duties towards the Palestinian people, including through the formation of various mechanisms and agencies and agreeing on a community support committee in the Gaza Strip formed by a decree issued by the President of the State of Palestine, within the framework of the political and geographical unity of the Palestinian land on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the sovereignty of the State of Palestine over it, and reaffirming that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
32- Calling for the continuation of providing urgent humanitarian and relief support and assistance to the Lebanese government to confront the repercussions of the Israeli aggression, including confronting the crisis of the displaced until they are able to return to their areas and secure the elements of a decent life for them, with the necessity of implementing reforms that allow sisterly and friendly countries to Lebanon to participate in supporting its economy to help the Lebanese people get out of the living crisis they are facing.
33- Strongly condemning the escalating brutal Israeli aggression on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, including targeting civilians, destroying civilian buildings and infrastructure, and violating its sovereignty, which constitute crimes and serious violations of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, and stressing the need to end the Israeli occupation of the occupied Syrian Arab Golan.
34- Assigning the Joint Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, headed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and formed in accordance with the decision issued by the First Joint Arab-Islamic Summit on November 11, 2023, to continue its work, intensify its efforts, and expand them to include working to stop the aggression on Lebanon; and for the Committee to submit periodic reports that the two secretariats will circulate to member states.
35- Assigning the Ministerial Committee to work on greater involvement of other actors in the “Global South” in efforts to enhance international support with the aim of ending the war and the Israeli occupation.
36- Emphasizing the need to protect navigation in sea lanes in line with the rules of international law.
37- Welcome the signing of the tripartite mechanism to support the Palestinian cause by the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union in Riyadh, and commend the African Union’s firm positions towards the Palestinian cause.
38- Assign the Secretaries-General of the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to coordinate to follow up on the implementation of what is stated in this resolution and submit periodic reports to the leaders in this regard.
