Arab League to discuss Gaza, West Bank issues

The 162nd meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Arab League is set to take place on Tuesday at the Arab League Secretariat in Cairo. 

The meeting will focus on halting the ongoing Israeli aggression against Gaza and the West Bank and strengthening international support for Palestine. 

The session, chaired by Yemen, which is taking over the presidency from Mauritania, will include Arab foreign ministers and heads of delegations, as well as Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

Prominent international figures attending the meeting will include Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye; Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Philippe Lazzarini, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); and Sigrid Kaag, United Nations Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.

The Council will address ways to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza and the West Bank and the crimes of genocide committed by the occupying forces against the Palestinian people over the past 11 months, which have resulted in martyrdom, injury, and the loss of more than 145,000 Palestinian civilians.

The Council will also discuss political, diplomatic, and legal measures to stop Israeli policies aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from their land, which constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and threatens Arab national security.

The Council will tackle the impact of these policies on the collapse of peace opportunities in the region and the worsening conflict.

During the meetings, the Council will emphasise its commitment to continuing support for Palestine in its pursuit of full United Nations membership.