The Arab-European ministerial meeting in Riyadh calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

RIYADH:

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

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

The participants expressed their “support for efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of prisoners and hostages, an end to 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 stressed the importance of moving to a political path 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, as well as the timing and framework of that recognition,” according to the same source.

Also read: Abbas, international leaders to hold talks on Gaza in Riyadh this week

Israel has launched a relentless attack on the Palestinian enclave following the cross-border attack by Hamas last October 7 that killed around 1,200 people.

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

More than six months into Israel’s 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 is accused of genocide in the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop the genocidal acts and take steps to guarantee that humanitarian aid is provided to civilians in Gaza.