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The Arab League said Thursday that peaceful coexistence in the Middle East cannot be achieved without the establishment of a Palestinian state and an end to Israel’s “hostile practices.”
In a resolution submitted by Egypt and Saudi Arabia and adopted in Cairo, the League declared that “the failure to reach a just solution to the Palestinian cause and the hostile practices of the occupying power” remain major obstacles to “peaceful coexistence” in the region.
The decision came as part of a wider meeting where Arab foreign ministers endorsed a “Joint Vision for Security and Cooperation in the Region.”
The meeting took place as Israeli forces intensified their offensive around Gaza City and days after Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the annexation of parts of the West Bank to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
According to the resolution, lasting peace is impossible while Israel continues to occupy Arab land or “issues implicit threats to occupy or annex further Arab lands.”
While Egypt and Jordan have peace treaties with Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco normalized ties under the 2020 Abraham Accords, Saudi Arabia froze its normalization talks with Israel after Hamas’s October 2023 attack triggered the Gaza war.
The League reaffirmed that any lasting settlement must be based on a two-state solution and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which offers full normalization with Israel in exchange for a complete withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967.
Egypt stressed Friday that “there is no room for allowing any party to dominate the region or enforce unilateral security arrangements that compromise its security and stability.”
The war in Gaza entered its 700th day Friday, with at least 64,300 Palestinians killed, according to local authorities. The military campaign has left the enclave devastated and facing famine.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
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