Arab League to hold emergency meeting next week to discuss Gaza war

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting at the level of permanent delegates next week to discuss the developments of the ongoing war on Gaza, Palestinian envoy said on Friday.

In a statement, cited by the Egyptian official news agency, Palestine's permanent representative to the league Mohannad Aklouk said an extraordinary session will convene on Monday at its headquarters in Cairo.

He also said the request was made by Palestine and supported by many of the Arab countries.

In addition to discussing the war on Gaza, the session will also touch on the Israeli crimes across the occupied West Bank and Israel's systematic demolition of the infrastructure in the Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank.

The Palestinian diplomat voiced hope that the meeting would result in political, legal, diplomatic and economic actions to confront the Israeli crimes, which can be done or supported within the League of Arab States and its member states.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the GazaStrip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed 1,200 people.

At least 24,762 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 62,108 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar