JEDDAH, Wednesday, October 18, 2023 (WAFA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Malki today called for collective and individual work to stop Israel’s barbaric war on the Gaza Strip and lift the blockade on it.

Speaking before the emergency ministerial meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, held in Jeddah at the invitation of Saudi Arabia, Malki stressed the necessity of bringing those who committed war crimes against the Palestinian people to justice as quickly as possible.

“This is our responsibility and it is our duty towards our people in Gaza, the Palestinian people in general, and all of humanity, and we do not accept failure in this task,” he said.

Malki stressed that Israel's continuous and escalating violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, its contempt for international law, and its attempts to deny the rights and humanity of the Palestinian people, in addition to its impunity due to the continuing international failure to hold it accountable for its actions will lead to an escalation with dire consequences.

He said that “the unquestionable support provided to Israel now, as it commits mass murder, ethnic cleansing and forced mass displacement in Palestine, must stop immediately. This aggression must stop without delay or excuses.”

Malki stressed that “attacking Palestinian civilians in their homes and killing them, targeting hospitals and shelters, hitting innocent people in markets and bakeries, starving an entire people, and stripping a nation of its humanity over a period of 75 years are abhorrent and illegal acts without dispute and are not justified.”

The Foreign Minister said “Israel's choices are clear, and every time it chooses occupation, colonialism, and aggression against the right of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence, it uses international cover and unilateral positions to justify its crimes that contradict the foundations of law and morality. So we must work to lift this cover once and for all. We must seek to stop this criminal war, instead of simply requesting the delivery of humanitarian aid. This is a responsibility towards humanity, not just towards the Palestinian people.”

M.K.