Call for permanent end to Gaza conflict

Agencies | Gaza                                                   

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Gulf and South East Asian leaders yesterday condemned the attacks on civilians in Gaza Strip and demanded a permanent ceasefire, even as rallies were held across the Arab world protesting the continued killing of civilians by Israel. International aid for over 2.3 million Gazans, under an Israeli siege for two weeks, is yet to arrive there.

In a statement issued after a meeting of the GCC-ASEAN Summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the leaders called for the release of hostages held by Hamas, the restoration of basic services for Palestinians, and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had attended the summit.

“As we gather, we are saddened by the escalating violence that Gaza is witnessing today, the price of which is being paid by innocent civilians,” HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, said while opening the summit in Riyadh.

“We affirm our categorical rejection of targeting civilians in any way and under any pretext, and the importance of adhering to international humanitarian law and the necessity of stopping military operations against civilians and infrastructure that affect their daily lives,” HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia said.

“The violence must stop, humanity must be the priority in this moment, and we must prevent things from getting worse,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in Riyadh. US President Joe Biden said yesterday evening that the first 20 trucks carrying aid for Gaza would come through Rafah border crossing point with Egypt in the next two days.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that the waiting aid trucks are a lifeline which need to move into war-torn Gaza as soon as possible. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza, the UN chief said.

The health ministry in Gaza said death toll since the Israeli bombardments began two weeks ago has risen to 4,137 by yesterday. Hamas, which is ruling Gaza, said in a statement yesterday evening that it has released two US hostages. Yesterday itself, Biden requested the US Congress to urgently approve military aid for Israel and Ukraine in a massive $106 billion national security package.

AFP reported yesterday evening that Arabs and Palestinians in Israel are facing reprisals, which includes a campaign of arrests, sackings, and dismissals, over social media posts expressing solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Yesterday, tens of thousands took to the streets of Cairo and other cities in Egypt. Demonstrations attended by thousands were also held in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. A sit-in was held at Iraq’s Trebil border crossing with Jordan. Thousands gathered outside the French embassy in Tunisia to protest the Western support to Israel while another protest was held outside the US embassy in which the demonstrators burnt a US flag, according to AFP reports.