Arab-Islamic Summit: Algeria warns of the risk of liquidating the Palestinian cause

RIYADH – Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in a speech delivered on his behalf by Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf to participants at the Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on Monday, emphasised that “the existential threat to our central cause is becoming increasingly evident and is intensifying before our eyes and before the international community.”

The Algerian President also highlighted the risk of liquidating the Palestinian cause through the deliberate and systematic dismantling of the Palestinian national project. This process is being carried out with careful planning and execution, through undermining the idea of a Palestinian state and excluding its establishment as a central condition for a just, lasting, and final resolution to the “Arab-Israeli conflict.” Ultimately, it seeks to eliminate the principle of “land for peace,” while the Israeli settler occupation clings to the illusion of achieving peace tailored to its own interests and desires, disregarding the principles of international law, especially the imperative of ending the occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories.

The speaker reiterated that, “since joining the Security Council, Algeria has consistently worked to keep the focus on the Palestinian cause, in particular, and on developments in the Middle East, in general. With the same level of commitment, Algeria will respond positively to the request made by our summit to bring the issue of Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations back to the forefront.

The speech underscored Algeria’s unwavering conviction that:

First and foremost, there is no alternative but to intensify pressure on the Israeli occupier diplomatically, politically, and economically. Sanctions, such as freezing Israel’s membership in the United Nations and imposing an arms embargo, remain the only means capable of deterring it and forcing it to end its war on Gaza and Lebanon, as well as its escalation in the region.

Secondly, there is no alternative but to uphold and strengthen the political, diplomatic, and legal achievements made by the Palestinian cause, in order to thwart Israeli plans aimed at its liquidation and the erasure of its identity. Besides, the international coalition support of the two-state solution is a crucial step in safeguarding the core principles and foundations of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

Lastly, there is no alternative but to unite fully in support of our Palestinian and Lebanese brothers. The future of Gaza after the war must be determined primarily and solely by the Palestinians themselves. Likewise, the future of Lebanon after the war must remain entirely in the hands of the Lebanese people alone.