This handout image provided by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows a view of a preparatory meeting in Doha ahead of an Arab Islamic summit. AFP
The draft, prepared on Sunday by Arab and Islamic foreign ministers ahead of the leaders’ summit, stops short of proposing punitive measures against Israel.
The text denounces the “brutal Israeli aggression” against Qatar and cites ongoing Israeli practices, including “war crimes, ethnic cleansing, starvation, blockades, and settlement expansion”, as actions that “undermine the prospects of peace and peaceful coexistence” and “threaten efforts to normalize relations with Israel.”
It condemns “in the strongest terms” the “cowardly and unlawful” Israeli strike last Tuesday on a residential neighbourhood in Doha hosting members of the Hamas ceasefire negotiating team..
The attack killed six civilians, including the son of top Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya and a Qatari security officer.
“The Israeli assault constitutes a flagrant aggression against a sovereign Arab and Muslim state and United Nations (UN) member, representing a dangerous escalation that exposes the extremist hostility of Israel’s government and adds to its criminal record, threatening both regional and international security,” the draft says.
It argues that striking Qatari territory, while the country serves as a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, amounts to an assault on diplomacy itself.
The draft categorically rejected any attempts to justify Israel’s actions under any pretext, saying they constitute a “flagrant violation” of international law and the UN Charter.
It added that these attempts directly undermine existing efforts and mediations aimed at halting the war on Gaza and thwart serious attempts to reach a just and comprehensive political solution that ends the occupation and alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The draft resolution also rejected repeated Israeli threats to target Qatar or other Arab and Muslim countries, calling them “dangerous provocations that threaten international peace and security.”
It urged the international community “to condemn such threats in the strongest possible terms and take measures to stop them.”
The draft further welcomed the Arab League Council’s adoption of the Joint Vision for Security and Cooperation in the Region, stressing the concept of collective security and a shared destiny for Arab and Islamic states, as well as the need for unity in facing common challenges and threats.
On the Palestinian cause, it reaffirmed rejection of “any Israeli attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinian people,” stressed “the centrality of the Palestinian cause as the foundation for just and lasting peace.”
It welcomed the New York Declaration in support of a two-state solution, affirming “unequivocal support for establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
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