The “Ministerial Committee appointed by the Extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh” continued its tour among the permanent members of the UN Security Council for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, arriving on Wednesday evening in the French capital, Paris, for its fourth stage. after Beijing, Moscow and London, before heading to Washington.
The committee, led by Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Foreign Minister, met on Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and David Cameron, British Foreign Secretary in London, with the participation of members Ayman Al-Safadi (Jordan), Sameh Shukri (Egypt), Riyad Al-Maliki (Palestine) and Hakan, Fidan (Turkey), Retno Marsudi (Indonesia), Yusuf Maitama Togar (Nigeria) and Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary general of the League of Arab States.
The two meetings welcomed the joint Egyptian-Qatari-American mediation efforts, which led to reaching an agreement on a four-day humanitarian truce in Gaza that can be extended, while underlining the need to build on the humanitarian truce to achieve complete and sustainable peace. cease fire as soon as possible.
Committee members underlined the importance of members of the Security Council and the international community taking effective and urgent measures towards a comprehensive ceasefire, considering this a priority for all Arab and Islamic countries, and calling on Britain to carry out a balanced role in accordance with international laws, to achieve it and to implement all relevant decisions.
The two meetings touched on the need to revive the peace process, as members underlined the importance of ensuring a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, through the implementation of international resolutions relating to the two-state solution, and enabling the people Palestinian people to realize their legitimate rights to peace. establish an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
They also discussed ensuring safe passages to deliver humanitarian aid, food, water, fuel and electricity to Gaza and allowing international organizations to carry out their tasks in and around the Strip.
Members called on the international community to assume its responsibilities, rejecting any form of selectivity in the application of international moral and legal standards, and turning a blind eye to the atrocious crimes committed by occupation forces and settler militias against Palestinians in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank territory, including East Jerusalem
In the same context, the British Foreign Office said in a statement that the talks focused on ways to secure the release of all hostages, increase the amount of aid entering Gaza and reach a long-term political solution to the crisis , adding that they also discussed “ways to activate diplomatic efforts to reach a solution.” A workable two-state that guarantees security for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
The statement said that Minister Cameron highlighted “the importance of enabling humanitarian organizations to bring in more fuel so they can save lives without hindrance, including the operation of hospitals and desalination plants which provide 80% of the water to Gaza”, reiterating the United Kingdom’s condemnation. of “the escalation of settler violence” in the West Bank” and its commitment to “continued support for efforts to prevent escalation on a larger scale in the region, including Lebanon and Yemen”.
Regarding the truce between Israel and Hamas, Cameron considered the agreement “an important step towards reassuring the families of the hostages, the release of prisoners, and an opportunity to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and bring more aid to help the Palestinian population. people”, underlining the importance of ensuring its full implementation by all interested parties.
He added: “We discussed how to take advantage of this step to think about the future and how we can build a peaceful future that provides security for Israel, as well as security and stability for the Palestinian people.”
President Macron welcomed the declared humanitarian truce on social media platform “X” and said he was working “tirelessly to secure the release of all hostages,” adding: “It should allow aid to enter and aid to the resident populations of Gaza.”
Subsequently, members of the committee met with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, where they discussed the situation in and around Gaza, efforts to reach a ceasefire and protect civilians, as well as the importance of consolidating the truce and to build on it, in addition to discussing many topics of common interest, in a way that enhances the security and stability of the Middle East and the world.
The French Foreign Minister for his part said that Paris hopes that among the hostages who will be freed under the agreement there will also be French citizens.
