Arab ministers call for 'total Gaza ceasefire' in Saudi meeting

A group of senior Arab leaders called for an immediate and total ceasefire in Gaza following a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, with Israel and Hamas still at loggerheads over a proposed truce.

Foreign ministers from Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization met with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah in Riyadh to discuss the latest developments in the four-month Israel-Gaza war.

"In their meeting, the ministers emphasized the need to end the war on the Gaza Strip, reach an immediate and complete ceasefire, ensure the protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, and lift all restrictions that impede the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave," the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The ministers called for the protection of civilians in Gaza and to lift all barriers preventing the full flow of aid into the enclave which has seen unprecedented devastation and international aid agencies declaring a ‘humanitarian emergency’.

At least 27,947 Palestinians have been killed alongside 67,000 wounded by Israeli attacks, according to the latest figures from the health ministry in Gaza.

They also urged all donors to maintain support to Palestinians through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) amid the suspension of funding from US, UK, Germany and others.

The diplomats also renewed calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Gaza Strip is "an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory", SPA added.

بدعوةٍ من المملكة.. عقد اجتماع تشاوري في الرياض لبحث تطورات الحرب الإسرائيلية على قطاع غزة، بحضور رئيس مجلس الوزراء وزير الخارجية القطري، ووزير الخارجية الإماراتي، ونائب رئيس الوزراء وزير الخارجية الأردني، ووزير الخارجية المصري، وأمين سر اللجنة التنفيذية لمنظمة التحرير… pic.twitter.com/kVEcp1VYU2

— واس العام (@SPAregions) February 8, 2024

The comments follow Riyadh's sharp rebuke this week to suggestions from White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby that the Saudi-Israeli normalisation process was "ongoing".

“The Kingdom has communicated its firm position to the US administration that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognised on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was in Saudi Arabia on February 5 and met with de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, as part of his whistle stop tour of the region to garner support for a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

Meanwhile, Thursday’s truce talks in Cairo between Hamas, Egyptian and Qatari officials lasted around four hours, an Egyptian source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab’s sister paper.