Al-Azhar urges Arab states to intervene, stop aggression on Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
11 Nov 2023 13:42

The Grand Imam of al-Azhar has stressed the need for Arab leaders and officials to work to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, amid an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Riyadh.

Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar, delivers his speech during the closing session of the "Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence", at the Al-Fida Square, Bahrain, November 4, 2022. (AP)

Arab leaders and officials should intervene quickly to stop the aggression and genocide of the Palestinian people, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, stressed on Saturday.

Sheikh al-Tayeb urged officials and organizations to deliver urgent aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. He also stressed the need for a resolution that would stop the bloodshed of innocent people and put an end to inhumane cruelty.

"We extend our hands to you, stand behind you, and we all have hope and confidence that you [Arab officials] will mobilize all the strength, resources, wisdom, experience, and [jurisdictions] that God has awarded you to stop this Zionist aggression against our people in Palestine," al-Azhar's Grand Imam said.

The Grand Imam emphasized that responding to the Israeli aggression is a religious and legal duty that all Arab officials should bear.

Arab-Islamic summit

Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb's remarks come after the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced an "extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit" in Riyadh on Saturday amid the dangerous developments in Gaza and the Palestinian territories.

The summit takes place on the 36th day of aggression on the Gaza Strip, after "Israel" has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians. The occupation has deliberately targeted residential areas and hospitals, such as al-Shifa Hospital, near Gaza City's coast, which has come under continuous and direct attacks from the occupation since Friday.

Abu Obeida, the military spokesperson of Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades, criticized the Arab States for failing to deliver humanitarian aid to blockaded Gaza, as thousands of trucks carrying food, medicine, and water among other necessities lay idle on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.

Mass demonstrations have erupted all over the Arab world, protesting against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the Arab governments' inaction on the matter, and the presence of Israeli embassies in some countries. Tunisia, Lebanon, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq witnessed such protests on a continuous basis.