By Taghreed Saadeh
Arab and international powers have strongly condemned the Israeli Security Cabinet’s (“the Cabinet”) plan to fully reoccupy the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace around one million Palestinians from Gaza City and the northern areas to the south, warning that such actions would worsen the humanitarian catastrophe and undermine prospects for peace.
China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, and Denmark—alongside the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Muslim World League, the Arab Parliament, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, unanimously rejected the plan. They described it as a flagrant violation of international law and UN resolutions, an escalation of war, and an act of starvation, forced displacement, and genocide against the Palestinian people.
These countries and organizations stressed the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid, and adherence to a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.
The Israeli plan, approved unanimously by the Cabinet, includes the forced transfer of residents, the encirclement of Gaza, and incursions into neighborhoods, aligning with calls from Israeli leaders to establish settlements in the Strip. The ongoing war, which began on October 7, 2023, has already claimed more than 61,000 Palestinian lives, left 152,000 wounded, and caused mass displacement and famine.
In this context, the Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the Arab League, Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk, announced that the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine has, upon the instructions of the Palestinian Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, requested the urgent convening of an extraordinary session of the Arab League Council at the level of permanent representatives.
The session aims to discuss mechanisms for coordinated Arab and international action to confront Israeli crimes, prevent their continuation, and pursue those responsible through international justice mechanisms. Al-Aklouk stressed the need for the meeting to issue a binding Arab decision for active engagement at both the Arab and international levels to confront these crimes and prosecute their perpetrators before international courts.
For its part, the Palestinian National Liberation Movement “Fatah” condemned the Israeli Cabinet’s decisions, which include steps to occupy the Gaza Strip under false pretexts and with overtly aggressive measures.
Fatah affirmed in a statement that such Israeli escalation policies, particularly military and security options, have only ever produced destruction and suffering for the Palestinian people and have failed to bring peace or stability even to Israel itself. It described these measures as a continuation of the occupation’s approach, which is the primary cause of all the region’s crises and a major factor in complicating the conflict and threatening security and stability for all.
Fatah reiterated that occupation cannot be a solution but is the root of the problem, and that the continuous resort to force and violence will neither bring security to Israel nor break the will of the Palestinian people, who persist in their legitimate struggle for freedom and independence.
On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held phone calls with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. President Abbas emphasized the importance of enabling the State of Palestine to assume full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip, the necessity of an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages and prisoners, the delivery of humanitarian aid, the assumption of security responsibilities by the Palestinian state with Arab and international support, and the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, ensuring the unity of governance, law, and legitimate arms under the state’s authority.
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