Leaders from across the Arab world convened in Baghdad over the weekend for their yearly Arab League Summit. During this gathering, they declared efforts towards establishing a truce between Israel and Hamas within the Gaza Strip and pledged support for rebuilding the region.
The conference held in Baghdad welcomed Arab heads of state such as Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also attended as a guest, as did UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The Spanish Prime Minister, during a speech to the Spanish Parliament on Wednesday, referred to Israel as a “genocidal state” and appealed to the global community to exert pressure on Israel with the aim of stopping the killings in Gaza.
Guterres called for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and the flow of aid into the territory, which has been under a total blockade by Israel for more than two months. He also said the UN rejects any “forced displacement” of Palestinians.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called for allowing aid to flow back into Gaza, which has been under a total blockade by Israel since early March. “This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history,” he said, adding that Iraq will work on setting up an Arab fund for the region’s reconstructionom which his country will pay $20 million for Gaza and a roughly similar amount for Lebanon.
Egypt’s El-Sissi stated that his nation was working closely with Qatar and the United States to “intensify efforts toward achieving a truce,” adding that Cairo intends to organize an international summit for rebuilding Gaza once the attacks cease.
The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, who leads the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank but has no control over Hamas in Gaza, called upon the armed organization to transfer their weaponry to the PNA.
A prominent no-show was Syria’s newly appointed President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who dispatched his foreign minister in his place. Iraqi Shiite militia groups and political entities, suspicious of al-Sharaa’s history as a Sunni militant, resisted his inclusion in the summit.
Al-Sharaa nonetheless had a meeting with US President Donald Trump earlier in the week, during which he pledged to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria by the United States.
‘Operation Gideon’s Chariots’
The day prior to the summit occurring,
Israel announced
The initiation of a newly declared stage in its Gaza operation was labeled as “Gideon’s Chariots,” during which the IDF mentioned they were carrying out widespread attacks and assembling forces with the aim of gaining operational dominance in Gaza’s regions.
The UN Secretary-General reacted to the information by stating he was “deeply concerned about the alleged intentions of Israel to broaden its ground operations further.”
Separated from Israel’s declaration of a broader offensive,
newsinpo.siterevealed the existence of
Documents from December 2023 disclosed that proposing the establishment of a new organization in Gaza “the day following” Hamas’s defeat is among the suggestions presented to the Israeli government.
The gathering in Baghdad marked the 34th Arab League Summit, bringing together Arab leaders to discuss issues pertinent to their region. Established in 1945, this organization now includes 22 member states.
