UPDATE - Arab-Islamic summit urges ICC prosecutor to ‘complete investigation into war crimes’ against Palestinians

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS FROM COMMUNIQUE, REVISES DECK

By Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The joint Arab-Islamic summit on Saturday urged the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to "complete investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against Palestinians."

In a communique copy of which was received by Anadolu, the summit mandates foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia, and Nigeria to “start immediate international action” on behalf of the Arab-Islamic summit countries to “stop the war on Gaza and press for the launch of a serious and real political process to achieve lasting and comprehensive peace in accordance with the adopted international terms of reference.”

Earlier, leaders and representatives of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation participated in an emergency joint Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. The summit coincides with the ongoing Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip for the 36th day.

The summit "strongly" condemned “the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and the war crimes and barbaric, brutal, and inhuman massacres committed by the colonial occupation government during this aggression, and against the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem,” according to the communique.

It said that the leaders affirmed that Israel and other countries in the region “will not enjoy security, peace unless Palestinians enjoy security, peace, regain all their usurped rights.”

They rejected “describing this retaliatory war as self-defense or justifying it under any pretext and demand to stop immediately.”

The summit called on all countries to “stop exporting weapons and ammunitions to the occupation authorities that are used by their army and terrorist settlers to kill the Palestinian people and destroy their homes, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches and all their properties,” the communique said.

It also called for an end to Israeli settlement expansion, emphasized the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative, and denounced "double standards" in applying international law.

The leaders concluded by calling for “convening international peace conference, as soon as possible through which credible peace process will be launched" under international law and for activating the Islamic Financial Safety Net to “provide financial contributions and financial, economic and humanitarian support to the Government of the State of Palestine and to UNRWA.”

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip – including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship – since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,078 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.