Arab-Islamic summit mandates Nigeria, others to end Israel-Palestine crisis

The Joint Arab-Islamic Summit has mandated Nigeria and other member states on the Ministerial Committee to engage global leaders towards ending the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.

This decision was part of the resolution of the extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said this in a statement on Tuesday.

He said that Mr Tinubu and other leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the League of Arab States were in attendance.

The Joint Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was formed by a resolution at the First Joint Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on 11 November 2023.

The group included the foreign ministers of Nigeria, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine and Jordan.

In a communiqué, the summit urged the Ministerial Committee to “intensify its efforts and expand them to include working on ending the aggression on Lebanon.”

According to the resolution, the committee will submit periodic reports, which the secretariats of the OIC and the League of Arab States will circulate to member states.

The committee was also mandated to further engage with actors across the Global South to strengthen international support towards ending the war and Israeli occupation.

“The resolution stressed the importance of protecting sea lanes by rules of international law and welcomed the signing of the tripartite mechanism by the League of Arab States, OIC, and the African Union to support the Palestinian cause.

“The summit praised the African Union’s steadfast support of Palestine.

“The leaders condemned recent Israeli military actions in northern Gaza, describing them as ‘crimes of genocide,’ including allegations of torture, executions, disappearances, and ‘ethnic cleansing’.

“They also criticised ongoing efforts to solidify Israel’s presence in occupied East Jerusalem, reaffirming it as the ‘eternal capital’ of Palestine and calling for the unification of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem under a sovereign Palestinian state,” the statement noted.

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The resolution reiterated “the full sovereignty of the State of Palestine over occupied East (Jerusalem), the eternal capital of Palestine.”

It rejected any Israeli actions aimed at altering the city’s identity or consolidating its occupation.

The summit also expressed unwavering support for Lebanon’s security, stability, sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens.

(NAN)