CAIRO, Sept 11 (NNN-MENA) — Foreign ministers of Arab countries, yesterday, urged Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including from the Philadelphi Corridor, and the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
The ministers categorically rejected Israel’s plans for “the day after its aggression” and its control over any part of Gaza, according to a resolution issued after the 162nd session of the Arab League (AL) Council, at the ministerial level held in Cairo.
In addition to officials from the United Nations and the European Union, Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, also attended the meeting, marking the first attendance of a top Turkish diplomat in an AL ministerial meeting in 13 years.
The Palestine-Egypt borders are sovereign ones, that “should not be touched,” the resolution said, stressing “the need to operate the Rafah crossing in accordance with the applicable rules, and to remove all obstacles to safe, sufficient and rapid humanitarian access through the crossing.”
The Israeli Zionist army took control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a 100-metre-wide and 14-km-long buffer zone along the Egypt-Gaza border, and the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, in May, halting the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza.
On Sept 2, the Israeli regime’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said at a news conference that, Israeli forces are “not going to withdraw” from the corridor, reiterating that keeping it under control is critical for preventing future weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza.
In the resolution, the ministers said, Netanyahu’s “allegations and lies” were “desperate attempts” to justify his refusal to withdraw from the corridor, obstruct mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and distract attention from his regime’s provocative policies against the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, the ministers called for confirming the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in Gaza, ending its illegal presence there as soon as possible, and immediately dismantling all settlement activities, according to the resolution.
They also agreed to officially intervene, to support the lawsuit filed by South Africa against the Israeli regime, before the UN’s principal judicial organ, the International Court of Justice, and urged the International Criminal Court, to issue arrest warrants against the Zionist leaders, who have committed crimes, falling within its jurisdiction, the resolution noted.– NNN-MENA
