Foreign ministers of Arab countries have urged Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including from the Philadelphi Corridor and the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.

The demand was made in a resolution issued after the 162nd session of the Arab League (AL) Council at the ministerial level held in Egypt’s Cairo.

The ministers categorically rejected Israel’s plans for “the day after its aggression” and its control over any part of Gaza.

In addition to officials from the United Nations and the European Union, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan also attended the meeting, marking the first attendance of a top Turkish diplomat in an AL ministerial meeting in 13 years.

The Palestine-Egypt borders are sovereign ones that “should not be touched,” the resolution said.

It stressed the need to operate the Rafah crossing in accordance with the applicable rules and to remove all obstacles to safe, sufficient and rapid humanitarian access through the crossing.

The Israeli army took control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a 100-meter-wide buffer zone along the Egypt-Gaza border, and the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in May, halting the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza.

On September 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces are “not going to withdraw” from the corridor, reiterating that keeping it under control was critical for preventing future weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza.

In the resolution, the ministers said Mr Netanyahu’s “allegations and lies” were “desperate attempts” to justify his refusal to withdraw from the corridor and obstruct mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.

It added that his intention was to distract attention from his government’s provocative policies against the Palestinian people.

Meanwhile, the ministers called for confirming the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in Gaza, ending its illegal presence there as soon as possible, and immediately dismantling all settlement activities.

They also agreed to officially intervene to support the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel before the UN’s principal judicial organ, the International Court of Justice.

The ministers then urged the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, whom they believed had committed crimes falling within its jurisdiction, the resolution noted. 

(Xinhua/NAN)