Riyadh- Arab and Muslim leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia on Monday for a summit addressing the war in Gaza and Lebanon, a chance to send a message to US President-elect Donald Trump.
In an address to the joint meeting of the Arab League and OIC on Monday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman condemned the “massacre committed against Palestinian and Lebanese people.”
Bin Salman urged Israel “to refrain from any further act of aggression.”
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League, also joined the Saudi crown prince in condemning Israel’s campaign of death and destruction in Gaza and Lebanon. “Words cannot express the plight of the Palestinian people.”
“The actions taken by Israel against the Palestinian people are undermining efforts to achieve lasting peace. It is only with justice that we will be able to establish lasting peace.”
This time around, Trump’s election last week for a second term in the White House is likely to be on leaders’ minds, said Anna Jacobs, senior Gulf analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank.
“This summit is very much an opportunity for regional leaders to signal to the incoming Trump administration what they want in terms of US engagement,” she said.
“The message will likely be one of dialogue, de-escalation and calling out Israeli military campaigns in the region.”
Despite global criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and Lebanon, outgoing US President Joe Biden ensured that Washington remained Israel’s most important military backer during more than a year of mmayhem.
More than 50 leaders of Arab and Islamic countries are in Riyadh to take part in the summit.
In his speech, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned that Lebanon “is going through an unprecedented historical crisis.”
Citing World Bank estimates, Mikati said the damage from Israeli aggression on his country amounted to about $8.5 billion, including both economic losses and destruction of homes.
Ahead of the meeting, Hamas called for the formation of an alliance of Arab and Islamic nations to pressure Israel and its supporters to end the atrocities in Gaza and Lebanon.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian did not attend the meeting due to pressing “executive matters.” But in a phone call with the Saudi crown prince, Pezeshkian said Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref will attend the summit.
The summit comes one year after a similar gathering of the OIC and Arab League, during which leaders condemned Israeli actions in Gaza as “barbaric.”
On Sunday afternoon, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan chaired the preparatory ministerial meeting ahead of Monday’s session.
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