Madrid: The Arab-Islamic Committee renews its support for the reconstruction of Gaza and calls for an immediate end to the Israeli blockade.

The ministerial committee held an expanded meeting in the Spanish capital, Madrid, yesterday, Sunday, chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, with the participation of representatives of the Madrid Group and several European countries, according to a joint statement issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement did not specify the names of the participating European countries, but media reports, including France 24 English, mentioned the participation of countries including Spain, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, and Brazil.

The committee, formed on November 11, 2023, includes the foreign ministers of Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine, along with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha.

The meeting was also attended by the Foreign Ministers of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Palestine, Mohammed Mustafa, Jordan, Ayman Safadi, Egypt, Badr Abdel Ati, and Nuh Yilmaz, Deputy Foreign Minister of Türkiye.

Call to end the siege and ensure the flow of aid

The committee members affirmed their support for the upcoming international conference in Cairo, which Egypt intends to organize in cooperation with the Palestinian government and the United Nations, to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza. The meeting also discussed developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, as well as international efforts to halt the Israeli war and end the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip.

The participants condemned the ongoing Israeli violations against Palestinian civilians, stressed the need to respect international law and humanitarian law, and expressed their support for the mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States to achieve a ceasefire and reach an agreement to exchange hostages and prisoners.

The committee reiterated its emphasis on the importance of ending the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and the need to open all crossings immediately and unconditionally to ensure the flow of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, given the worsening humanitarian situation that has pushed the Strip to the brink of famine, particularly with the continued closure of the crossings since March 2.

The meeting also discussed ongoing arrangements for holding a high-level international conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York next June, with the aim of reaching a peaceful settlement to the Palestinian issue and implementing the two-state solution. The conference will be co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.

Members of the ministerial committee emphasized the importance of coordination and cooperation to ensure the conference's success, by presenting clear commitments and practical steps at the political, economic, and security levels. French President Emmanuel Macron announced last April from Cairo that he would co-chair the conference, indicating the possibility of his country recognizing the State of Palestine in the coming months.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has continued its large-scale war against the Gaza Strip, with US support. This war has resulted in more than 176,000 amm assalam and injuries, most of them women , and more than 11,000 missing persons, amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis plaguing the Strip's population.