Cairo: As tensions escalate in the Middle East, rising Israeli attacks in the occupied Palestinian territories, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as escalating Iranian attacks against Arab nations, are set to dominate the 166th session of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level on Monday at the League's General Secretariat in Cairo.
According to Qatar News Agency, the evolving situation in the Palestinian cause is poised to top the session's agenda on the heels of the grave escalation by Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, along with their persistent breach of the ceasefire deal that took effect last October. These Israeli violations included launching further airstrikes and artillery shelling operations, as well as firing intense salvos at various parts of the enclave, coupled with plans for settlement expansion in the West Bank and relentless abuses in occupied Jerusalem.
The Council will mull supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the face of the continued targeting it has endured at the hands of Israeli occupation forces, as well as supporting the budget of the State of Palestine and the resilience of the Palestinian people. In this regard, the Arab Economic and Social Council, at the conclusion of its 118th regular session last Thursday, called on Arab states to adopt the State of Palestine's proposal to support the Palestinian economy by establishing a multi-year Arab program for capacity-building and assistance to the State of Palestine in priority trade and economic sectors.
The Council also called on specialized Arab organizations, as well as Arab financing funds and institutions, to help fund and implement technical assistance and capacity-building programs designated for the State of Palestine, each within its respective mandate.
Arab solidarity with Lebanon will receive overriding priority in this ministerial session, amid ongoing airstrikes on Lebanese territory, where the death toll from the Israeli aggression since October 8, 2023, has soared to 8,925 killed and 30,595 injured. A statement issued by the Health Emergency Operations Center of Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health on Saturday also reported that the cumulative toll from the offensive reached 4,358 killed and 12,359 injured since March 2.
As such, the Council is set to address developments in Syria, amid continued violations by Israeli occupation forces of the 1974 disengagement agreement through repeated incursions into southern Syria and the conduct of raids, amid calls for the international community to take action to halt them and compel the Israeli occupation to make a full withdrawal from its territory.
Iranian attacks that violate international law against Arab states also stand out as one of the primary items on the agenda, amid unabated attacks targeting the territory of Arab nations and imperiling the security of their people, infrastructure, resources, and capabilities, thereby heightening tensions and impairing efforts aimed at containing the escalation in the region. In this regard, the Council highlights Iran's obligations under international law to immediately halt its attacks on Arab nations, respect their sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the provisions of international law and the United Nations Charter.
The Council will further reemphasize solidarity with those nations that came under attack and back them in all measures they pursue to protect their security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Combined, the security of navigation and energy supplies in the Arabian Gulf region top the agenda of this session, amid the risks posed by Iranian assaults that compromise freedom of international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the dangerous implications for the security and safety of international waterways, energy security, international supply chains, and regional and global peace and security.
As part of supporting security and stability in the Arab region, the Arab Foreign Ministers will debate an array of critical issues, including supporting peace and development in Sudan, as well as Somalia and the Union of the Comoros, in addition to exploring a peaceful solution to the Djibouti-Eritrea border dispute, the evolving situation in Libya, and the risks posed by Israeli armament to Arab national security and global peace.
In this context, the session addresses the issues of joint Arab action pertaining to the two reports of the League's Secretary-General on the activities of the General Secretariat and procedures for executing the decisions of the League Council between the two previous ordinary sessions (164 and 165), as well as the draft agenda of the Council at the summit level for its 35th ordinary session, scheduled to take place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.