KEY POINTS
- Qatari PM urged the world to end “double standards” and punish Israel for its “crimes.”
- OIC and Arab League chiefs called for a UN resolution and accountability over Israel’s “war crimes.”
- The Arab-Islamic leaders’ summit will issue a strongly worded statement against Israel.
- Pakistan calls for accountability of Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
DOHA, Qatar: Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani urged the international community on Sunday to “stop using double standards” and punish Israel for what he described as its “crimes”.
Sheikh Mohammed was speaking at a preparatory meeting on the eve of an emergency summit of Arab and Islamic leaders organised by Qatar after Israel carried out an unprecedented air strike on Doha targeting Hamas leaders who were discussing a ceasefire proposal.
“The time has come for the international community to stop using double standards and to punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed, and Israel needs to know that the ongoing war of extermination that our brotherly Palestinian people is being subjected to, and whose aim is to expel them from their land, will not work,” the prime minister said.
The preparatory meeting of foreign ministers for the emergency joint Arab-Islamic summit commenced on Sunday in Doha.
Speaking at the meeting, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha called for a UN General Assembly resolution to halt “violations and crimes” against Palestinians and to advance the two-state solution. “Efforts must be uniform and united in the face of all these challenges,” he said.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned that international silence had emboldened Israel to continue its “crimes” with impunity.
He urged Arab and Islamic countries to hold Israel accountable for “evidenced war crimes, including killing civilians, starving the population and driving an entire population homeless.”
Israel must be held accountable
Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Israel must be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Dar said Israel should not be allowed to get away with attacking Islamic countries and killing people with impunity.
Ishaq Dar further emphasised the creation of an Arab-Islamic task force to monitor the Israeli designs in the region and adopt effective deterrent and offensive measures in a synchronized manner to ward off Israeli expansionist designs.
He urged the OIC countries to pursue the suspension of Israel’s membership in the United Nations. He said the member states should actively consider implementing additional punitive measures against Israel, as a means to reinforce accountability and deter further violations of international law.
The Deputy Prime Minister urged the UN Security Council to urgently demand Israel an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire, and release hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
He also called for ensuring unfettered, sustained and secure humanitarian access to all civilians in need, and the protection of aid workers, medical teams and UN personnel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ishaq Dar demanded the revival of a genuine and time-bound political process to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting two-state solution in accordance with international law and relevant UN and OIC resolutions.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to the cause of global peace, he said Islamabad will continue to work with the OIC and Arab partners to mobilize global support towards this end.
Arab-Islamic summit in Doha
The Arab-Islamic leaders’ summit is to discuss a draft statement regarding the Israeli attack on Qatar in September, which targeted the residences of several Hamas officials in Doha, according to the Qatar News Agency.
The airstrikes, which left several dead and wounded, were widely condemned across the Arab and Islamic world as a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and international law.
Foreign ministers of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states are attending the summit on Sunday, including Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced the Israeli attack as an “aggressive act” and reiterated the Kingdom’s solidarity with Doha, stressing the need for the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Israeli attack on Doha came hours after Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed Israel had accepted the ceasefire proposal, which would release all 48 captives held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a ceasefire.
Israel killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security official in the attack, although it did not kill the Hamas leadership it said it was targeting.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned the attack on Thursday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who met US President Donald Trump in New York on Friday, said Qatar will pursue a collective response to the attack, which has put the entire region at risk.
Qatar has long had a mediation role, working to end Israel’s war on Gaza and generate regional unity.
Leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the 22-member Arab League will attend.
At the summit, a strongly worded statement against Israel is guaranteed.
Israel has also bombed Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen as its genocidal war on Gaza and military raids on the occupied West Bank continue relentlessly.
