Blinken says he discussed a "shared goal" of Palestinian state alongside Israel with Arab, Muslim ministers
Shafaq News/ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday said he had met with a joint delegation from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for talks on a "shared goal" of establishing a "Palestinian state alongside Israel".
At a joint press conference before the meeting, a group of foreign ministers said the focus should remain on stopping the fighting immediately in Gaza instead.
"Our message is consistent and clear that we believe that it is absolutely necessary to end the fighting immediately," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said.
"One of the disturbing facts of this conflict is that ending the conflict and the fighting doesn't seem to be the main priority," for the world, he said.
Humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza needed to be significantly increased, he said, adding that it is "unacceptable" that aid "is being restricted and has been restricted" because of "bureaucratic obstacles."
"I met with an Arab League-OIC delegation from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the Palestinian Authority to discuss efforts to meet Gaza’s humanitarian needs," Blinken wrote in a post on X. "We discussed our shared goal of establishing a future Palestinian state alongside Israel."
A U.N. Security Council vote on a demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was delayed by several hours on Friday until after Blinken's planned meeting with Arab ministers and the foreign minister of Turkey. The Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee comprises ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Palestinian Authority and Turkey.
The United States - a veto-wielding power on the council - has said it does not currently support further action by the 15-member body on the conflict. The council last month called for pauses in fighting to allow aid access.
The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack.
In response to the attack, Israel has bombarded Gaza and sent in troops in what it says is an operation to destroy Hamas.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told the council that while the United States strongly supports a durable peace in Gaza, "we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire."
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told the press conference that if the resolution fails on Friday, it would be giving a license to Israel "to continue with its massacre."
"Our priority for now is to stop the war, stop the killing, stop the destruction of Gaza's infrastructure," he said.
"The message that's being sent is that Israel is acting above international law ... and the world is simply not doing much. We disagree with the United States on its position vis-à-vis on the ceasefire," he said.
In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and said an international peace conference should be called to work out a lasting political solution leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
