Arab League demands recognition of Palestine on Naksa anniversary

The Arab League on Monday called on countries that have not yet recognised Palestine yet, to do so.

The statement came on the 55th anniversary of the Naksa, the annual day of commemoration of the displacement that accompanied Israel's capture of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Syria’s Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in the Six-Day War in 1967.

The Sinai Peninsula was later returned to Egypt under the terms of a peace deal.

The Arab League affirmed "the [Arab] nation’s continued commitment to its central cause, the Palestinian cause, and its support for the just struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve freedom and independence…on their national soil, with Jerusalem as its capital."

The Naksa anniversary "coincides this year with dangerous Israeli escalation, represented by the occupation army intensifying its aggression and terror in the city of Jerusalem, enabling settlers to carry out their attacks and storming the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, desecrating Islamic and Christian sanctities… and encouraging settlers to establish Talmudic prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and an attempt to change the status quo in it," the statement added.

55 years in exile: Diaspora Palestinians on the War of 1967 https://t.co/J5s5lrzJ3G

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) June 6, 2022

The league called on the UN Security Council to "assume its responsibilities, implement its resolutions, carry out its duties in maintaining international peace and security, and obligate Israel to end the occupation, complete withdrawal from all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since June 5, 1967, and provide international protection for the Palestinian people."

It also called on the international community "to hold Israeli officials accountable for all crimes committed against the Palestinian people."

As of 2019, 138 of the 193 member states of the UN have recognised the State of Palestine, while 165 recognise Israel, established in 1948 after British rule in Palestine ended.

In 2020, four Arab countries established diplomatic ties with Israel. These include the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Jordan and Egypt were the first to make peace with the Jewish state.

The controversial Abraham Accords and subsequent normalisation of ties were slammed by all Palestinian factions who described the move as a betrayal of their cause.