Syria’s Bashar Al Assad, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi are among those who are attending the combined extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League. The joint summit will replace two separate gatherings which were scheduled earlier this month, the ministry said.
The decision was taken after the Kingdom consulted with the Arab League and the OIC, according to a statement issued Saturday by the Saudi foreign ministry.
The joint meeting “will be held in response to the exceptional circumstances taking place in the Palestinian Gaza Strip as countries feel the need to unify efforts and come out with a unified collective position,” it said.
The summit is expected to strongly condemn Israel’s campaign in Gaza and call for a halt to forced displacement of Palestinians there.
Raisi said on Saturday that time had come for action over the conflict rather than talk as he headed to Riyadh.
“Gaza is not an arena for words. It should be for action,” he said at Tehran airport before departing. “Today, the unity of the Islamic countries is very important,” he added.
The emergency meeting comes after Hamas militants’ bloody October 7 attacks that Israeli officials say left about 1,200 people dead and 239 taken hostage.
Israel’s subsequent aerial and ground offensive has killed more than 11,000 people, mostly civilians and many of them children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
On Friday, the Saudi Crown Prince reiterated the Kingdom's condemnation of Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip and the forced displacement of Palestinians in the strip.
“We condemn the Israeli occupation authorities’ violation of international law in Gaza,” he said during a Saudi-African summit.
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