MBS condemns Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, operations in Lebanon

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman condemned on Monday Israel’s “collective genocide” in Gaza and its operations in Lebanon.

Speaking at the opening of the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh addressing the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, MBS also said the Kingdom stands with the people of Palestine and Lebanon amid Israel’s ongoing operations in both countries.

“The Kingdom renews its condemnation and categorical rejection to the collective genocide that Israel is committing against the Palestinians,” MBS said, addressing Arab and Muslim leaders who gathered at the summit.

Israeli’s continued aggression undermines efforts aimed at allowing Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights and establishing peace in the region, MBS said.

As for Lebanon, where Israel has waged an extensive ground and aerial attack on the country, the Crown Prince said that the Kingdom rejects the ongoing Israeli operations.

“We condemn the Israeli military operations that targeted Lebanese territories, and we reject threating Lebanon’s security and stability,” MBS said.

The Saudi Crown Prince called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and to “preserve international peace and security by immediately halting the Israeli actions against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon and to [urge] Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty and not to attack its territories.”

The summit is being held at the backdrop of regional escalation and tension as Israel opened a second military front in Lebanon where it says it is fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The war in Gaza erupted after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7 last year, which resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 43,600 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data from the territory’s health ministry.

Hezbollah began firing on Israel after the October 7 attack, however, the regular cross-border exchanges escalated in late September when Israel intensified its air strikes and sent ground troops into southern Lebanon.

The volatile situation also has been marked by tension between Iran and Israel and consecutive attacks from both countries.

Speaking at the summit, the Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit also criticized the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza and Lebanon.

“What is needed is an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon,” Aboul Gheit said. “Maybe the new elected US president, who promised to end the war, can fulfill this promise,” he said, referring to Donald Trump who won the US presidential race last week.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya last month ahead of the US presidential election, Trump said that if he had been president, the Gaza war would have never started.

For his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the suspension of Israel’s membership in the United Nations if it doesn’t stop its violation of international law and “halting its crimes against the Palestinian people.”

The Saudi foreign ministry had announced plans for the summit in late October during a meeting, also in Riyadh, of a new “international alliance” to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Leaders began arriving in Riyadh on Sunday in preparation for the summit that comes one year after a similar gathering in Riyadh of the Cairo-based Arab League and the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

“The escalating violence in the Palestinian and Lebanese territories, including the brutal Israeli aggression, has compelled Arab and Islamic leaders to take urgent action,” the official Saudi Press Agency said.

“Key priorities include halting the aggression, protecting civilians, providing support to the Palestinian and Lebanese people, unifying positions, and exerting pressure on the international community to take decisive steps to end the ongoing attacks and establish lasting peace and stability in the region.”

On Sunday afternoon, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan chaired the preparatory ministerial meeting ahead of Monday’s session.