News Excerpt:
The “Manama Declaration” (Manama is the capital city of Bahrain) issued by the 22-member Arab League bloc called for “international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories” until a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is implemented.
Background:
- Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, prompting the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to engage in aerial campaigns and ground operations within the Gaza Strip.
- The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.
- On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was created, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with Israel’s victory, but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into 3 parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip.
- Under international law, the Palestinian territories remain occupied, and Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank are considered illegal.
Key points of Declaration:
- It called for an immediate end to fighting in the Gaza Strip and blamed Israeli “obstruction” for failed negotiations for a ceasefire.
- It stresses the need to stop the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip immediately, withdraw the Israeli occupation forces from all areas of the Strip and lift the siege imposed on it.
- It strongly condemns Israel’s obstruction of cease-fire efforts in the Gaza Strip and its continued military escalation by expanding its aggression against the Palestinian city of Rafah, despite international warnings of the disastrous humanitarian consequences.
- The declaration called on “all Palestinian factions to join under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). The Arab League said it considered the PLO “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”.
- The declaration added the Arab nations’ commitment to “ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea” and surrounding areas.
About the Arab League:
- The Arab League was founded in 1945 to promote regional cooperation and resolve disputes. It is formally known as the League of Arab States.
- It was established with initially just six nations: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
- Currently, it has 22 member states, who have pledged to cooperate on economic and military affairs, among other issues.
