RIYADH: The international community has not prioritized the need to end fighting immediately in Gaza, Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat said Friday, as Arab foreign ministers called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.
“One of the disturbing factors of this conflict is that ending the conflict and the fighting doesn’t seem to be a priority, or at least… there are some in the international community who don’t feel [fighting should end as soon as possible],” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said.
“We are all very much dismayed by that approach,” he added during a press conference with the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Palestine and Turkey.
The delegation will meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken later Friday as part of their global tour, which has been part of their efforts to halt the fighting in Gaza, reactivate the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis and urge the immediate flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Prince Faisal pointed to a UN Security Council Resolution about the need for an immediate ceasefire, which the US has opposed.
But, he stressed that the Arab countries were not willing to discuss what came “the day after” fighting stopped at this time. Reports have indicated that the US is floating ideas about who would assume control over the Gaza Strip if and when the Israel-Hamas war stopped.
“The only thing that we believe is feasible and viable is to discuss what comes after the context of Palestine and the entire situation in the West Bank and Gaza, and the pathway to a Palestinian state,” Prince Faisal said.
He also said there was an immediate need to significantly ramp up humanitarian aid to Gaza. “It is unacceptable that humanitarian aid is being restricted… when the need is so dire,” the Saudi diplomat said.
He said that securing a Palestinian state or developing a roadmap to one could happen within a year or even sooner. “We all know what a Palestinian state looks like; we all know what is needed to make it happen.”
Courtesy: alarabiya
