Arab leaders meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss Palestinian issue, Gaza developments
Leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan met in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh on Friday to discuss the Palestinian issue and the developments in the Gaza Strip, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
While the report described the gathering as a “consultative brotherly meeting” without providing details, media reports suggested that the discussions were meant to focus on Gaza’s post-war reconstruction to counter a recent proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate Palestinians from the enclave and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” a plan widely rejected by Arab nations.
According to SPA, the meeting is at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and attended by Jordanian King Abdullah II, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
During the meeting, the leaders also expressed their support for the upcoming emergency Arab League summit, scheduled to take place in Cairo on March 4, to address the latest Palestinian developments.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) stated that around 90% of homes in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands of people with nowhere to go.
The IOM made this statement on Friday following a visit to Gaza by its Director General, Amy Pope, and the Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Muhannad Hadi.
The IOM emphasised that, in coordination with the United Nations and its humanitarian partners, it is intensifying efforts to enhance emergency shelter assistance.
According to the statement, since January 19, the IOM has dispatched aid covering shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene supplies and non-food items to support the population in Gaza.
The statement included remarks from the organisation’s Director General, describing the scale of destruction in Gaza as staggering, according to Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA).
“Families in Gaza are returning home to nothing but rubble, enduring cold and rain with little to no shelter,” stressed IOM in a post on X.
Prisoners Release
Meanwhile, Israel says it is indefinitely delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, BBC reported. It came after six Israeli hostages, including four kidnapped during the 7 October 2023 deadly Hamas attack on Israel, were released on Saturday.
that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the release of the Palestinian prisoners was now going to be delayed until the next handover of hostages by Hamas was guaranteed – and without what he called the degrading ceremonies that Hamas has put on each week. There’s only one more handover of hostages due in the first phase of the ceasefire, involving four of the hostages who’ve died in captivity.
No arrangements for the release of other living hostages, due to take place in phase two of the ceasefire, have yet been made.
Mediators will be working overtime to try to get the deal back on track and avert a possible collapse of the ceasefire.
Netanyahu accused Hamas of “repeated violations”, including the “cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes”.
His statement came after four hostages who were taken captive during the Nova music festival – Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert – were released on Saturday.
The two other released hostages, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, were held in Gaza for years – Mr Mengistu since 2014 and Mr al-Sayed since 2015. The six Israeli hostages are the final living hostages to be returned as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal which is set to end next Saturday.
Meanwhile outside the Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, family and friends waited for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
According to Palestinian authorities, 50 of the prisoners who were going to be released were serving life sentences, 60 had long sentences, and 445 were detained by Israel since 7 October.
There are 62 hostages taken on 7 October 2023 who are still being held by Hamas, around half of whom are believed to be alive.
Hamas began releasing hostages, facilitated by the Red Cross, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners after the ceasefire agreement took effect on 19 January. Initial chaotic scenes have become more choreographed, with hostages flanked by fighters on stages before the handovers.
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