Summit Shock: Arab League Meeting Rejects Proposals on Israel Ties Severance

During a joint summit of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, reports surfaced that several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, rejected a proposal to sever diplomatic and economic ties with Israel. The proposal entailed various demands: halting the transfer of US military equipment to Israel from bases in the region, freezing all diplomatic and economic connections with Israel, considering the use of oil as leverage, barring flights to and from Israel through Arab states’ airspace, and forming a delegation to urge for a ceasefire in the US, Europe, and Russia.

Countries opposing these demands included Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, Mauritania, Djibouti, Jordan, and Egypt, as per Israel’s Channel 12 and Reuters. Algeria had tabled the proposal, advocating for a complete break in relations with Israel, which was resisted by other Arab nations.

According to two summit attendees cited in the report, other Arab countries believed in maintaining open communication channels with Israel, leading to the rejection of the proposal.

Initially planned as separate events, Saudi Arabia combined the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting and the Arab League Summit into a unified summit on November 11, due to the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

The summit witnessed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s notable presence, marking the first visit by an Iranian head of state to Saudi Arabia in nearly eight months, post a truce brokered by China. Raisi urged Islamic nations at the gathering to designate the Israeli military as a “terrorist organization.”