RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Monday that Israel’s ongoing violations are hindering international efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
The Saudi Foreign Minister added that an increasing number of countries are supporting the Kingdom’s international initiative to recognise Palestinian statehood.
“The number of countries that have decided to recognize a Palestinian state is steadily increasing,” Prince Faisal said.
Prince Faisal made these remarks during an emergency ministerial meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), convened to address the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
He reaffirmed the Kingdom’s firm support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.
The Foreign Minister also called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and urged the international community to take decisive action to end the Israeli occupation.
He further stated that countries still reluctant to condemn Israel’s actions should reconsider their position.
While chairing the session, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also condemned settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, including Israeli ministers.
He warned that recognition of Palestine is insufficient without global action to compel Israel to end its war. “The Israeli government seeks not peace but the erasure of Palestine. This cannot be allowed,” he said.
Israel has killed nearly 62,700 Palestinians in a brutal onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.
Meanwhile, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in a statement has emphasised the urgent need for the international community to respond responsibly to the findings of the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report highlighting the spread of famine in the Gaza Strip.
The OIC held Israel fully responsible for the famine and its consequences, citing it as a direct result of policies of starvation, illegal blockade, systematic destruction, and obstruction of humanitarian aid access, all of which were classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
