Islamic nations hold emergency summit on Israel-Gaza violence
SMA NEWS – Cairo
The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned Israel’s actions. But Hussein Ibish, a senior scholar at the Washington-based Arab Gulf States Institute, said most Gulf Arab leaders are concerned over Hamas’ rocket fire and view it as “cynical, dangerous, unnecessarily provocative and endangering Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza alike.”
The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation opened an emergency meeting Sunday over the heavy fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Islamist Hamas group, the first major move among Middle East nations still grappling with how to address the conflict.
While the Arab League and organisations like the Saudi-based OIC have maintained their view that the Palestinians should have their own independent state, Israel has recently reached recognition deals with several of its members.
That, as well as the concerns of some nations over Hamas, has seen a somewhat-muted reaction to the attacks as opposed to the full-throated response of decades past.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan called on “the international community to take urgent action to immediately stop military operations.”
“De-escalation and the highest degree of restraint are important to avoid dragging the region to new levels of instability,” said UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem al-Hashimy.
Pre-dawn Israeli strikes in the centre of Gaza City on Sunday brought the death toll in Gaza to 181, including 47 children, health officials said. Israel has reported ten dead, including two children.
