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| An extraordinary summit of Arab and Muslim countries took place on November 11 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Source: AFP) |
An extraordinary summit of Arab and Muslim countries took place on November 11th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Held amidst a serious escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly in the Gaza Strip, the summit focused on discussing pressing regional issues, including condemning Israel's military actions in Gaza, protecting Palestinian rights, and finding a lasting solution to the conflict.
The participation of influential regional countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Türkiye played a significant role in the discussions at the Conference. Host country Saudi Arabia called for unity in protecting Palestinian rights and pledged humanitarian assistance.
Meanwhile, Iran was one of the countries most strongly condemning Israel's actions and calling for solidarity with Palestine. For its part, Türkiye supported international measures and called for intervention from global organizations such as the United Nations (UN).
The conference criticized Tel Aviv's use of self-defense as a pretext for large-scale attacks and unanimously called for international support to "freeze" Israel's membership in the UN.
The conference reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Palestine's establishment of an independent state encompassing the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, based on pre-1967 borders. Palestinian rights remained a hot topic at the conference, with many countries arguing that the conflict could only end when Israel respected Palestinian rights and hoping for stronger UN intervention, calling for a resolution to protect the Palestinian people and open humanitarian access routes to the Gaza Strip.
In its joint statement, the conference called for international support to impose an arms embargo on Israel, emphasizing that “this would be a step to put things in the right place.” The statement also warned of the risks of escalating and expanding conflict in the region, which has lasted more than a year in the Gaza Strip and is spreading to Lebanon, along with alleged violations of the sovereignty of Iraq, Syria, and Iran, without decisive action from the international community.
Despite many points of consensus, disagreements also emerged at the conference. Some countries, including Algeria and Lebanon, supported economic sanctions against Israel to pressure Tel Aviv. Conversely, the UAE and Bahrain – countries that have normalized relations with Israel – opposed harsh sanctions, fearing they could escalate tensions and negatively impact regional economic and security relations. Instead of advocating for tough measures, these countries called for dialogue and a solution through diplomacy and peaceful negotiations.
Although no final solution was reached, the Conference clearly demonstrated the will and commitment of many countries to support the Palestinians and seek lasting solutions. However, countries also had to simultaneously address the challenge of balancing national interests and regional solidarity in order to find a sustainable peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the entire Middle East region.
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