Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman says Israel committing genocide in Gaza

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday denounced Israel’s war on Gaza as a “genocide” in the first such declaration by the kingdom’s prime minister and de facto ruler.

At a joint summit by the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference held in Riyadh, the prince and other Arab leaders doubled down on their criticism of Israel’s assaults on Gaza and Lebanon, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

“This summit is held as an extension to the previous summit in light of the continued heinous Israeli aggressions against our brotherly Palestinian people and the extension of aggressions on the brotherly Republic of Lebanon,” he said in his keynote speech.

“The kingdom reiterates its denounciation of the genocide perpetrated by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people, which resulted in more than 150,000 martyrs, wounded and missing, the majority of whom are women and children.”

The Saudi government has been critical of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza since 7 October last year, and has backed calls for a ceasefire and a two-state solution, despite earlier speculation that the Gulf kingdom and Israel were close to formalising open relations. Mohamed bin Salman has recently stated that his government will not do so without the establishment of a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In his speech, the prince also denounced Israel’s “desecration of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque” and its “undermining of the critical role of the Palestinian Authority on all Palestinian territory”, saying such policies only serve to curtail peace in the region.

The crown prince also criticised Israel’s banning of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, and its attacks on aid agencies in Gaza. 

Additionally, he condemned the Israeli war on Lebanon, warning of the “catastrophic consequences” of the continued operations in Lebanon and Gaza, while warning of further attacks against Iran.

“We call on the international community to assume its responsibility to immediately halt the aggression on Palestine and Lebanon, and obliging Israel to respect the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran and not attack its territories,” he said. 

‘Systematic murder’ 

In his speech before the summit, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for sanctions on Israel and halting the expansion of settlements “within one year”.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi refrained from describing the war on Gaza as a genocide, but denounced “the systematic murder of civilians in Gaza”.

He also said that Egypt will not accept any Israeli plans for forced displacement of the population of Gaza or efforts to make the enclave uninabitable.

“In the name of Egypt, I declare that we will stand against all plans that seek to liquidate the Palestinian cause, whether through forced displacement or making Gaza uninhabitable. We will not accept that under any circumstances,” Sisi said.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called for “an executive plan” by Arab and Islamic leaders for an end to Israel’s war, “otherwise we would be aiding the continuation of genocide”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned against Israeli plans “to annihilate Palestinians”. 

He added that the banning of Unrwa by Israel seeks to “eliminate a two-state solution and prevent the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland”.

Erdogan criticsed Western nations providing Israel with “political, economic, military and moral support,” while also acknowledging “the failure of Muslim countries to respond adequately” to the situation in Gaza.

“We must maintain our coordinated efforts to put pressure towards measures against those committing genocide in Palestine,” he said, adding that differences between Muslim nations should not be an obstacle for joint action against Israel.