Arab Leaders Call for Immediate Ceasefire and End of Gaza Strip Blockade

TIME

Arab leaders called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, over fears of a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Transcript

00:00 "We are all here together with a unified message that more violence is not the answer,

00:10 that all civilian life is deserving of protection, and that includes the lives of the Palestinian

00:16 civilians in Gaza.

00:18 And that is why we are all here standing together calling for an immediate ceasefire, for an

00:23 immediate lifting of the blockade on Gaza, and for a return to a peace process, and for

00:30 a return to a true, serious approach to resolving the existing grievances of the Palestinian

00:36 people."

00:37 "We call on the Security Council to undertake its responsibility as defined in the Charter

00:42 to work for the cessation of hostilities, an immediate and sustained ceasefire, and

00:49 to provide the protection for all civilians.

00:53 Again, we condemn the targeting of all civilians, and we consider it imperative that the international

01:00 community undertakes its responsibility to address the issues of gross violations of

01:06 international humanitarian law.

01:08 We can no longer only address the two-state solution and advocate as a matter of lip service

01:14 that the international community and the Security Council do have the necessary resources and

01:20 means to implement what has become recognized as the international community's consensus

01:27 to the end of this conflict on the basis of a two-state solution, living side by side

01:31 in peace and security."

01:33 "Before anybody else, we expressed outrage at the killing of civilians.

01:40 We went, we met in the Arab League, and we all took one unified stand, and we said we

01:44 condemn the killing of civilians.

01:46 We're outraged at where that moment has gotten us as well.

01:50 We're outraged at what's happening now in Gaza.

01:52 6,000 people slaughtered, children, women, daughters, fathers, grandfathers, all suffering,

02:00 all dying under the bombardment of Israel.

02:04 We should be outraged at failing the Palestinian people.

02:07 We should be outraged at failing the Israeli people by not giving them the peace that they

02:12 deserve.

02:13 All we want is peace, peace that will fulfill the rights of the Palestinians to statehood

02:18 freedom, will ensure the security of Israel.

02:21 And that's a position that we took in 2002, the Arab Peace Initiative.

02:26 We said that.

02:27 We said all of us are willing to have normal relations with Israel in return for one thing,

02:31 end the illegal occupation of the Palestinian land, end the suppression of the Palestinian

02:35 people, withdraw from Arab lands occupied, and let's have peace."

02:38 "A ceasefire is a humanitarian imperative.

02:42 We are facing a desperate situation in Gaza right now.

02:45 We are facing an impending humanitarian catastrophe.

02:49 Every hour we speak, more civilians in Gaza are dying, more people are getting injured.

02:55 The situation is getting worse.

02:58 A ceasefire is an absolute necessity immediately.

03:03 That will allow us to address all of the other issues.

03:05 We have called quite clearly for a release of hostages, and that is absolutely necessary.

03:10 But the protection of civilian life, the protection of infrastructure, especially hospitals and

03:14 other infrastructure required for the survival of Gaza is also an imperative that must be

Category

Transcript

Recommended