Palestinian envoy calls for emergency Arab League meeting over Gaza

RAMALLAH Palestine has requested an emergency meeting of the Arab League Council at the level of permanent representatives amid “intensifying Israeli aggression,” a Palestinian envoy said.

The request comes in light of the escalating Israeli “crimes” committed against the defenceless Palestinian people, said Mohanad A. A. Alaklouk, the permanent representative of Palestine to the Arab League, according to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.

Noting the Israeli army’s horrific acts that have caused “forced displacement, destruction, and starvation, particularly in northern Gaza,” Alaklouk called on the Arab League and its member states to assume responsibilities regarding these “unprecedented crimes,” which pose a threat to the security of Arab states as a whole, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli army has continued its ground operation in the Jabalia camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza, for the 16th consecutive day, claiming the operation aims to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping to launch further attacks.

During the operation, Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians, destroyed dozens of homes and infrastructure, and forced numerous families to flee their residences, according to Palestinian sources.

On Sunday, the Central Committee of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) held a meeting in Ramallah in the central West Bank.

Several key issues were discussed, including the ongoing Israeli “crimes” in Gaza, primarily the recent Israeli killings in the north, according to a statement released by the committee after the meeting.

The statement reaffirmed the Palestinian leadership’s continuous efforts to secure international protection from the United Nations for the entirety of the State of Palestine.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage.