Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman reaffirmed his country’s absolute rejection of the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza and Lebanon.
Inaugurating the Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on Monday, he also called on the international community to compel Israel to respect the sovereignty of Iran. He reiterated Saudi Arabia’s position of rejecting any Israeli attacks on the Iranian territory.
The Crown Prince stressed rejection of the diminishing the role of the Palestinian Authority and obstructing the work of humanitarian agencies in Gaza. He reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s strong rejection and condemnation of the genocide being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza. “We affirm that Israel’s continued crimes against innocent people, its persistent violations of the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and its act of diminishing the pivotal role of the Palestinian Authority in all Palestinian territories, will undermine efforts aimed at obtaining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and establishing peace in the region. Saudi Arabia also condemns the prevention of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from undertaking relief work in the Palestinian territories and obstructing the work of humanitarian organizations from providing relief aid to the brotherly Palestinian people.”
The Crown Prince emphasized that Palestine is eligible for full membership in the United Nations. “Saudi Arabia has launched a global initiative to support the two-state solution. We affirm the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state,” he said.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the summit is being held amid the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Palestinian and Lebanese territories. “We stand with our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon, and we condemn Israeli operations in Lebanon, and reject any violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and any threat to its security,” he said.
At the outset of the speech, the Crown Prince welcomed the attendees on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. The Crown Prince’s speech was followed by speeches by the heads of delegations participating in the summit. Earlier, the leaders of Arab and Islamic countries and their representatives arrived at the venue of the Arab-Islamic summit, which is an extension of the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit hosted by Saudi Arabia on the same day last year. It is expected that the summit will formulate a unified Arab-Islamic position with regard to the Israeli aggression on Palestine and Lebanon and come out with concrete solutions to address the most pressing regional issues.
The leaders, heads of state, and high ranking officials of the Arab and Islamic countries who came to attend the summit include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; King Abdullah II of Jordan;Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt; Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati; President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria; Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani of Iraq; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani; Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah; Iran First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref; President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan; Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council President Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan; Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa; President of Senegal Bassirou Diomaye Faye; Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno; President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon; Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; President of Mauritania Mohammed Ould Ghazouani; Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi; Uganda’s Third Deputy Prime Minister Lukia Isanga Nakadama; Niger’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Bakary Yaou Sangare; Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf; and Foreign Minister of Guinea Morissanda Kouyate.