BAGHDAD: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir on Saturday reiterated the kingdom’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza and its rejection of any attempts to forcefully displace Palestinians.
The state minister called for joint efforts to lessen the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people and said Israel’s crimes and violations in Gaza represent a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and international laws, Al Jazeera reported.
During his address at the 34th Arab Summit in Baghdad, he reaffirmed the kingdom’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza while rejecting any attempts to forcefully transfer Palestinians.
Al-Jubeir rejected any solutions that do not live up to the aspirations of the Palestinian people, restoring their lawful right of self-determination, namely the establishment of an independent sovereign state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Earlier in his opening speech, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said: This genocide in Gaza has reached a level of ugliness unparalleled in all conflicts in history.
Iraq backs the creation of an Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts after crises in the region, Sudani told the summit, adding that Iraq will contribute $20m for the reconstruction of Gaza and another $20m for Lebanon, which has also been in conflict with Israel.
The Iraqi prime minister said Baghdad rejects the forced displacement of Palestinians, calling for an end to the massacres in Gaza, the attacks on the West Bank, and the occupied territories.
“We have called, and continue to call, for serious and responsible Arab action to save Gaza and reactivate the UNRWA,” he said, referring to the UN body for Palestinian aid.
This year’s summit, chaired by Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, gathers Arab leaders to discuss key regional issues, including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, security cooperation, and strategies for strengthening economic ties across the Arab world.
Gaza death toll jumps to 53,272
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that the bodies of 153 people killed in Israeli attacks were brought to hospitals across the region in the past 24 hours. According to a statement posted on Telegram, this figure includes seven bodies recovered from under the rubble of earlier airstrikes.
Another 459 injuries were registered over the last 24-hour reporting period, the ministry said.
The figures bring the number of people killed in Gaza since the start of the war to 53,272, with 120,673 others wounded, according to the ministry
