‘Send a clear signal’: Saudi, other Arab nations in China to discuss Gaza war

The two-day summit has been called by China as part of its efforts to “establish peace” in the Middle East region. The meeting comes amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, with the Israeli forces being accused of committing war crimes against the civilian population of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in a firm remark issued at the summit, said the representatives of Islamic and Arab countries have arrived in Beijing to send a “clear signal”.

“We are here to send a clear signal: that is we must immediately stop the fighting and the killings, we must immediately deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza,” news agency Reuters quoted him as saying.

Riyad al-Maliki, the foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, that partly governs parts of West Bank, alleged before the gathering that Israel wants to eradicate the presence of Palestinians. The measures taken by the Israeli government in the recent period seeks to “bring to an end the Palestinian people’s presence on what remains of its historical land”, he said, according to news agency AFP.

A spokesperson for the Egypt government said that Israel was following a “systematic policy” to obstruct the flow of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza.

“Egypt is making every effort to bring aid into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, but Israel’s policy of obstructing the entry of aid is a systematic policy aimed at pushing the Palestinians to leave the strip under the weight of bombing and siege,” Al Jazeera quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing is a “good friend and brother of Arab and Muslim countries,” and added that the country has”always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and interests.”

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Updated: 20 Nov 2023, 04:38 PM IST