Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih said the Kingdom would convene an emergency Arab summit in Riyadh “in the next few days” to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza.
The comments came from the minister with his appearance at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia has postponed the fifth Arab-African summit that was scheduled for Friday to clear government-level bandwidth to host the Gaza-focused summit. That is likely to take the form of a “emergency Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Co-operation summit” on Friday and Saturday.
“In the short term, the objective of bringing these three summits and other gatherings under the leadership of Saudi Arabia would be to drive towards peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Mr Al Falih said, before the decision was made to postpone the Arab-African summit.
Sources from the Saudi Foreign Ministry and the Arab League told The National that mid-level discussions between foreign ministers had been held to discuss short-term measures to bring about an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Meanwhile, calls within the United States, Israel’s primary ally, are growing in support of so-called “humanitarian pauses” to the conflict so key aid and needs can be delivered to the besieged civilians in Gaza. So far, Israel has rebuffed those efforts.
The outbreak of war has caused President Joe Biden to call for a renewed commitment to a two-state solution once the conflict ends.
Late last month, President Joe Biden stressed the conflict on the Gaza Strip must end with a vision of a “two-state solution.” Achieving that, Biden said, means “a concentrated effort for all the parties — Israelis, Palestinians, regional partners, global leaders — to put us on a path toward peace.”
Meanwhile, in the U.S. Congress, the lone Palestinian-American, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, called for a cease-fire. However, the Republican-controlled house passed a GOP-led resolution on Tuesday to censure Rep. Tlaib over comments critical of Israel and in support of Palestinians amid Israel’s war against Hamas.
“It is important to separate people and governments. No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation,” she said.
According to reports, she grew emotional and had trouble speaking after she said, “I can’t believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable.”
