CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy on Monday called for a unified international stance against Israel over what he described as attempts to derail the Gaza peace roadmap.
Fahmy welcomed a statement issued on Sunday by eight Arab and Islamic countries condemning Israel’s rejection of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict in Gaza.
He said the position adopted by Israel and its prime minister reflected a clear intention to obstruct mediation efforts and entrench the status quo in the Gaza Strip.
Fahmy condemned Israel’s continuing military operations in the Palestinian territories, accusing it of carrying out daily killings, expanding the areas under its control and obstructing efforts to address the humanitarian crisis facing more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza since 2023.
He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be driven by domestic political considerations, adding that his public positions demonstrated a disregard for the international consensus reflected in the peace plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803.
Fahmy said Hamas had agreed to the proposed arrangements while Israel had failed to meet its obligations, arguing that this placed responsibility for the deadlock on the Israeli government.
He added that the international community, particularly the US as a sponsor of the agreement since last October, had both a political and moral responsibility to pressure the party obstructing its implementation.
Such pressure was necessary, he said, to ensure an immediate move toward the second phase of the peace roadmap.
Fahmy accused Israel of seeking to impose its will not only on the Palestinians but on the wider international community.
He said Israel appeared to envision agreements in which obligations were imposed on only one party while it bore no responsibility to halt the fighting or withdraw from occupied areas of the Gaza Strip.
“This is illogical,” he said.
Fahmy urged countries that continue to support a two-state solution as the only viable means of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to adopt a clear and unified position toward the Israeli government.
He said such a stance was particularly important given Netanyahu’s public rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state, arguing that Israel should understand that disregarding international efforts would have consequences.
Foreign ministers from eight Arab and Islamic countries on Sunday condemned Israel’s rejection of Trump’s Gaza plan, warning that the stance threatened international efforts to end the conflict.
They called for the immediate and full implementation of the roadmap, saying it was necessary to address Gaza’s severe humanitarian crisis, restore security and stability, and begin reconstruction and recovery.
Ambassador Rakha Ahmed Hassan, a former assistant Egyptian foreign minister, told Arab News that Israel had repeatedly disregarded international humanitarian law and the international community.
He cited an incident at the UN in which Israel’s representative tore up a copy of the UN Charter, criticizing what he described as the absence of an effective international response.
Hassan said Hamas had accepted the terms of the peace plan while Israel continued to reject the roadmap.
He accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity and said Israeli forces had attacked trucks carrying medical supplies intended to treat wounded Palestinians in Gaza.
Hassan also accused Israel of continuing what he described as a campaign of genocide and occupation in the Palestinian territories.
