THE Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, on Monday. stated that a lasting solution needed to be found to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas
Tuggar made this appeal at the joint extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he moved for a collaborative effort between member states to achieve this goal.
The Summit was chaired by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, with the participation of the leaders and heads of government and heads of delegations of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States.
Israel has been relentlessly bombarding the Gaza Strip since Hamas fighters carried out an October 7 attack on southern Israeli communities, the deadliest in the country’s history.
More than 11,200 people, most of them civilians and thousands of them children have been killed in Gaza in retaliatory strikes by Israel, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Tuggarsaid Nigeria was in support of the two-state pact issued by the UN as a realistic solution to the end of the crisis
“Nigeria welcomes the intervention by the IOC and the Arab League to emphatically add its voice for a call to the end of violence and loss of lives of innocent citizens.”
“We must work collectively to bring an end to the violence and find a lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the UN-prescribed two-state solution,” he said.
“Nigeria stands firmly by this.”
The Foreign Affairs minister bemoaned the onslaught on the Gaza Strip indicating it did not affect Hamas
“We meet under tragic circumstances when sustained attacks on the Gaza Strip have led to the senseless loss of human lives continue to threaten the lives of innocent civilians and have created a humanitarian disaster.”
“The question we have to ask ourselves is where is the evidence that the violence meted out by Israel on Gaza is having any deleterious effect on Hamas’ he said.
The two organizations in the resolution adopted by the joint summit underscored the centrality of the Palestinian cause and their support with all their capabilities for the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people to liberate all their occupied territories and the need to end the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and to separate Gaza from the West Bank, including Al Quds Al Sharif.
The resolution affirmed that Israel and all the states in the region will never enjoy security and peace unless Palestinians enjoy them and reclaim all their usurped rights.
The resolution contained political, legal, and humanitarian steps, including breaking the siege on Gaza, ensuring the entry of Arab, Islamic, and international humanitarian aid convoys, and supporting Egypt’s efforts to deliver aid to the Strip in an immediate, sustainable, and sufficient manner.
This is coming shortly after the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been selected by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League as part of a special delegation mandated to initiate immediate international action to halt the ongoing war in Gaza.
The decision was taken in furtherance to the resolution adopted at the Joint Arab Islamic extraordinary summit on Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people, which took place in Riyadh on Saturday 11/11/2023.
The resolution bearing the inclusion of Nigeria in the peace team states the following: “Assign the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as the presidency of the 32nd Arab and Islamic Summit, along with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine, and any other interested countries, and the Secretary-General of both organizations to initiate immediate international action on behalf of all member states of the OIC and the Arab League to formulate an international move to halt the war in Gaza and to pressure for a real and serious political process to achieve permanent and comprehensive peace in accordance with established international references.”
The resolution on the inclusion of Nigeria was communicated to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tuggar by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Nigeria.