Saudi foreign minister leads calls for unity at Arab League summit
Reject internal differences and prioritize our common interests, Prince Faisal says
Arab leaders on Wednesday called for unity in defense of the Palestinian cause and the protection of Jerusalem.
The Arab League summit in Algiers concluded with a pledge of continued Arab support for Palestine, and condemnation of Israel’s use of violence and its blockade of Gaza.
Calls for unity were led by the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan. “We must intensify coordination and consultation and reject our internal differences and prioritize our common interests,” Prince Faisal said.
“We stress the importance of continuous coordination among our Arab countries to enhance our national and regional security and renew our total rejection and response to the approach of expansion and domination at the expense of others.
“We will not allow others to impose their values on us, and since we respect the values and cultures of others, we hope others will respect that.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Arab leaders at the summit to increase their support in the face of “crimes” by Israel, where former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks set to return to government after a narrow election victory.
Abbas said Israel was “systematically destroying the two-state solution and throwing away agreements it has signed,” and he urged Arab leaders to “save the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”
He avoided directly mentioning Tuesday’s Israeli election which looks set to deliver a comeback to power for Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, who has long since dropped any support for a two-state solution.
The summit host, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, said the Arab world’s “central and primary cause remains the Palestinian cause.”
He also called for unity to face escalating “tensions and crises,” which he said were the worst in the Arab world’s recent history.
‘We must intensify coordination and consultation and reject our internal differences and prioritize our common interests. We will not allow others to impose their values on us, and since we respect the values and cultures of others, we hope others will respect that.’
Prince Faisal bin Farhan
Saudi foreign minister