Middle East leaders slam Israel at Saudi-hosted summit on Gaza

RIYADH: Arab leaders and Iran’s president meeting on Saturday in Riyadh roundly condemned Israel’s actions in its war against Hamas in Gaza, as fears mount the conflict could draw in other countries.

The emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) comes after Hamas October 7 attacks that Israeli officials say left about 1,400 people dead.

Israel’s subsequent aerial and ground attacks have killed more than 11,000 people, mostly civilians and many of them children, according to the health ministry.

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.

Iran president in Riyadh

The roster of attendees on Saturday also included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was welcomed back into the Arab fold this year.

Raisi is the first Iranian president to visit Saudi Arabia since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended an OIC meeting in the kingdom in 2012.

The conflict has already fuelled cross-border exchanges between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.

Analysts say Saudi Arabia feels vulnerable to potential attacks because of its close ties with Washington and the fact that it was considering normalising ties with Israel before the war broke out.