Cabinet says global inaction risks fueling genocide, forced displacement
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday denounced Israel’s plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, accusing it of systematically starving the territory’s population and engaging in ethnic cleansing.
In a statement carried by the state news agency SPA following a Cabinet meeting chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Neom, northwestern Saudi Arabia, ministers strongly condemned the Israeli decision to occupy Gaza and its “persistent crimes of starvation, brutality and ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians.
The Cabinet warned that the continued inability of the international community and the UN Security Council to halt such violations erodes the foundations of global order, threatens regional and international security, and risks “grave consequences” that could embolden genocide and mass displacement.
Israel has kept Gaza’s crossings shut since March 2, blocking nearly all humanitarian aid and pushing the territory into famine, despite hundreds of aid trucks stranded at its borders. Limited deliveries permitted have fallen far short of the needs of the starving population.
Israel’s Security Cabinet on Friday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s phased plan to occupy Gaza in its entirety. The first stage involves forcing around 1 million residents out of Gaza City to the south, encircling the city, and launching incursions into residential areas. A second stage would see the takeover of central refugee camps, many already devastated in the ongoing war.
The Saudi ministers also welcomed Australia’s announcement that it will recognize a Palestinian state and New Zealand’s move to consider a similar step, praising “broad international backing” for the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed nearly 61,600 people since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
