Arab and Muslim leaders fly to Saudi Arabia for talks on Israel's wars

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Arab and Muslim leaders have begun arriving in Saudi Arabia for a summit scheduled for Monday that will focus on Israel's assault on Gaza and Lebanon, Saudi state media said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati (l.) has landed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for an Arab-Islamic summit to discuss Israel's wars and aggression in the Middle East.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati (l.) has landed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for an Arab-Islamic summit to discuss Israel's wars and aggression in the Middle East.  © DALATI AND NOHRA / AFP

The Saudi foreign ministry announced the summit in late October during the first meeting of an "international alliance" pushing for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

Attendees will "discuss the continued Israeli aggression on the Palestinian territories and the Lebanese Republic, and the current developments in the region," the official Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.

It comes one year after a similar gathering in Riyadh of the Cairo-based Arab League and the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) during which leaders condemned Israeli forces' actions in Gaza as "barbaric."

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The Saudi state-affiliated Al-Ekhbariya news channel broadcast footage on Sunday of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati landing in Riyadh.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also scheduled to attend, the Pakistani foreign ministry said last week, adding that he planned to call for "an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza" and the "immediate cessation of the ongoing Israeli adventurism in the region."

Arab nations divided over approach to Israeli aggression

The 57-member OIC and 22-member Arab League include countries which recognize Israel and those firmly opposed to its regional integration.

Last year's summit in Riyadh saw disagreement on measures like severing economic and diplomatic ties with Israel and disrupting its oil supplies.

In the Gaza genocide, Israel has slaughtered more than 43,600 people in Gaza since October 2023, according to data from the territory's health ministry. The British medical journal Lancet and other experts believe the true number to be far greater, upwards of 186,000 as of July 2024.

During that same time period, Israel has killed more than 3,130 people in Lebanon, according to the country's health ministry, most of them since September 23.

Cover photo: DALATI AND NOHRA / AFP

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