Saudi Arabia crown prince condemns ‘genocide’ by Israel

RIYADH –

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler condemned what he called the “genocide” committed by Israel against Palestinians when he spoke at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders on Monday.

“The Kingdom renews its condemnation and categorical rejection of the genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at an Arab Islamic summit, echoing comments by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud late last month.

He urged the international community to stop Israel from attacking Iran and to respect Iran’s sovereignty.

The crown prince said in September the kingdom would not recognize Israel unless a Palestinian state were created.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration had sought to broker a normalization accord between Saudi Arabia and Israel that would have included U.S. security guarantees for the kingdom, among other bilateral deals between Washington and Riyadh.

Those normalization efforts were put on ice after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza and Israel’s subsequent retaliation.

In a press conference later on Monday, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit pointed to an article in a concluding statement to the summit that moved to freeze Israel’s membership in the UN General Assembly.

He stated that freezing membership would not come under the Security Council’s jurisdiction and could be decided by the General Assembly.

“We might witness soon the freezing of the membership (of Israel) through a UNGA majority decision,” said Aboul Gheit.

The summit’s concluding statement demanded all countries ban exports or transfers of weapons and ammunition to Israel and urged the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for civilian and military officials in Israel.

Israel’s military assault on Gaza in the last 13 months has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly its entire population, caused a hunger crisis and led to allegations of genocide at the World Court, which Israel denies.

(Reporting by Clauda Tanios in Dubai and Pesha Magid in Riyadh, additional reporting by Jaidaa Taha in Cairo; editing by Christina Fincher and Cynthia Osterman)