The Council of the League of Arab States at the level of foreign ministers called Monday on Israel to "immediately" resume the peace process with Palestine.
This came in a statement at the conclusion of an emergency meeting held today at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo, headed by Egypt, to discuss the Arab situation and support the Palestinian cause, according to what was reported by the official Egyptian News Agency.
The Arab minister stressed the "adherence of the Arab countries to the two-state solution, which embodies the independent and sovereign Palestinian state."
And he called on Israel to respond to the Arab Peace Initiative through the immediate resumption of peace negotiations, based on international references, and the important elements contained in the initiative that achieve the interests of all parties.
The "Arab Peace Initiative", also known as the "Saudi Initiative", is a proposal adopted by the Arab League at its summit held in Beirut in 2002.
The initiative provides for the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, and Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and the lands still occupied in southern Lebanon, in exchange for Arab recognition of Israel, And normalize relations with it.
The Ministerial Council rejected - according to the same statement - "any unilateral Israeli projects or steps that negatively affect the rights of the Palestinian people and violate international law and undermine the two-state solution, for which there is no alternative."
He stressed "the necessity of adherence to international legitimacy resolutions, foremost of which are UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate and complete cessation of all settlement activities."
Firm position
The work of the emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers began in their presence Monday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo to support the Palestinian people in light of regional developments.
The meeting was held on the joint initiative of Egypt and Jordan, "to affirm the firm Arab position in support of the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people," according to a statement by the League.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said at the opening of the meeting - according to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry - that the world thinks that the Arabs have been distracted from their "main just cause, and that the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, has fallen on an agenda of priorities." Arab countries, which is wrong with him. "
The Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, stated in his speech that "the international consensus on the two-state solution must be translated into a practical move that leads to saving this solution from continuous Israeli attempts aimed at undermining and marginalizing it."
"Settlement activity, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, constitutes a serious obstacle to the two-state solution, and it is illegal and illegal activity, and is in violation of international legitimacy resolutions," he added.
This meeting coincides with the start of the Palestinian National Dialogue sessions in Cairo, with the participation of 14 factions, led by Fatah and Hamas, regarding arrangements for organizing Palestinian legislative and presidential elections for the first time in 15 years, according to Egyptian state television.
Arab move
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called for "the necessity of crystallizing an Arab initiative to restart serious and real negotiations to reach a two-state solution in addition to mobilizing an international position."
Safadi stressed "the importance of launching this move now, with the start of a new American administration, to build on the positive signs it announced."
For his part, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan called on "the international community to exert more efforts to revive the peace process that achieves the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital."
Lebanese Foreign Minister Charbel Wahba said, "This extraordinary meeting came at the appropriate time (...) to push for a just and comprehensive solution that would allow achieving peace," while Kuwait's Foreign Minister Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah reiterated his country's position in support of finding a just solution to peace, which leads to The establishment of the Palestinian state.
Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita said, "What is required is continued focus for the success of efforts aimed at clinging to the option of negotiation and dialogue, in order to reach the establishment of the Palestinian state."
The Algerian Foreign Minister, Sabri Boukadoum, also called for regaining the initiative in order to create the appropriate conditions for resurrecting the negotiations process based on agreed terms of peace.
The foreign ministers held a consultative meeting prior to the start of the meeting, with Aboul Gheit attending to consult on the draft agenda and the latest developments in the Arab arena.
Biden administration
Since April 2014, the peace process between Palestine and Israel has stalled, as a result of the latter's refusal to halt settlement activity in the occupied territories, and to accept the 1967 borders as a basis for negotiating the establishment of a Palestinian state.
And there were calls for strong Arab action and international support.
To launch a new negotiation track between Palestine and Israel on the words of the speakers at the meeting, which is the first since Joe Biden's arrival to the presidency of the United States on January 20.
Speeches reported by Egyptian media and the Palestinian News Agency called for urging all actors, especially the new US administration, to undertake a sincere effort to achieve peace.