The Ministerial Committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Gaza welcomed on Tuesday the joint statement from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the demands to end the war on Gaza and immediately allow access of humanitarian aid to the strip. The Ministerial Committee shared the opposition expressed by the three leaders to military operations and the continued full-fledged assault against the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza. The committee voiced its grave concern over Israel's continued blockade on humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and called for the immediate and sustainable surge of lifesaving humanitarian aid at scale for Palestinians in need throughout Gaza. The deliberate denial of essential life-saving supplies and the weaponization of humanitarian aid has pushed the population to the brink of famine, it pointed out. The Ministerial Committee emphasized that Israel's blockade constitutes a violation of the UN Charter and resolutions, treaties, and international humanitarian law. "This exacerbates the man-made catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and poses a serious threat to the security and stability of the region. Israel should allow and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance without impediment from all land routes and crossings along with utilizing air and sea aid delivery to address the catastrophic situation in Gaza," the committee said while emphasizing that no justification can be accepted for starving the Palestinian people in Gaza and depriving them of basic humanitarian aid and needs. The committee expressed its concern over the Israeli intention to allow "limited aid flow" to the Gaza Strip and its endorsement of a new aid delivery model which runs counter to humanitarian principles and international law, and is designed to reinforce control over lifesaving and sustaining items as part of a military strategy, as underlined by UN agencies and humanitarian partners. Humanitarian aid must never be politicized or militarized, the committee reiterated while rejecting and condemning Israel's plans to forcibly displace the Palestinian people and annex Palestinian land. The Ministerial Committee noted that the UN and its humanitarian partners pursued the delivery of aid in line with humanitarian principles across the Strip since 2023, often at the peril of their lives, and supported the system-wide scale-up after the 2025 ceasefire. Despite extreme duress and constant Israeli obstruction, they upheld humanitarian principles and continued their work. It stressed that the United Nations and its humanitarian partners have the capacity and operational systems in place and are ready to act today without delay and in a way that ensures aid is delivered directly to the Palestinian people throughout Gaza and that the most vulnerable are not left behind. The committee reiterated its demands to the international community to assume its moral and legal responsibilities and to immediately intervene to put pressure on Israel, the occupying power, to immediately lift the blockade, cease its aggression and violations, comply with UN resolutions, international law and international humanitarian law. In light of this, it demanded ensuring swift, sustained, and unimpeded access and provision of humanitarian assistance at scale into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip through the lifting of all restrictions, as well as the immediate restoration of all basic services in the Strip, including the supply of electricity and water desalination plants as well as medical services. The committee called for ending the Israeli war on Gaza and for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in line with UN resolutions and the full implementation of the ceasefire - hostage/detainees release agreement that went into effect on January 19 and as brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, thus paving the way for the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, and the implementation of the Arab-Islamic Plan, including convening the Cairo Ministerial Conference on Reconstruction as soon as conditions allow. The Ministerial Committee also expressed deep concern over the Israeli military incursions in the occupied West Bank, as well as illegal practices such as settlement activities, home demolitions, and settler violence, which undermines the rights of the Palestinian people, threaten the prospects for a just and lasting peace and further entrench the conflict. It recalled that Israel, as an occupying power, must protect civilians and comply with international humanitarian law. The committee firmly rejects any attempts at annexation and unilateral illegal measures that seek to alter the legal and historical status quo of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem. The Ministerial Committee further reaffirmed full commitment to a political resolution to the conflict that ensures the fulfillment of the rights of the Palestinian people, including the independence of the State of Palestine, and the implementation of the two-state solution with Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security, on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace, and the Arab Peace Initiative, paving the way for lasting peace and coexistence between all the peoples of the region. The committee reaffirms its commitment in this regard to the convening of a UN High Level International Conference in June in New York, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France to advance these goals.
