Arab-European ministerial meeting in Riyadh calls for immediate cease-fire in Gaza

Participants demand ‘political solution’ to Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Anadolu Agency April 30, 2024

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip in this handout picture released on March 5, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS

RIYADH:

Arab and European ministers agreed Tuesday on the urgent need for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip during a meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

This came in a joint statement issued following an Arab-European ministerial meeting to discuss efforts to implement a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including the recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Participants expressed their "support for efforts to achieve an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, release prisoners and hostages, end the war, and all illegal Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem," the statement said.

They also called for addressing the "catastrophic humanitarian crisis" in the enclave and emphasized the importance of transitioning to a political track that guarantees a "political solution” to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The meeting also discussed the "recognition of the Palestinian state by countries that have not yet done so, and the timing and context of this recognition," according to the same source.

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.

More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands of others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.