Johannesburg [South Africa], November 22: The BRICS group of nations Tuesday called for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce in Gaza during an extraordinary summit where chair South Africa accused the Zionist entity of war crimes and genocide in the Palestinian territory. Pretoria hosted a virtual meeting of BRICS - a group of major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - aimed at drawing up a common response to the Zionist-Hamas conflict.
"We called for an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities," the group said in a summary of the meeting. "We reiterated our strong support for regional and international efforts aimed at achieving an immediate cessation of hostilities, ensuring the protection of civilians and the provision of humanitarian aid."
"The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by (the Zionist entity) is a war crime. The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Leaders and representatives of BRICS said a long-term diplomatic solution to the Palestinian-Zionist conflict was needed to ensure peace, with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for an "international peace conference" to achieve that goal. "There can be no sustainable peace and security in the Middle East without a just solution to the question of Palestine," Xi said, speaking through an interpreter.
China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinians and supportive of a two-state solution to the Zionist-Palestinian conflict. And it has this year sought to play a greater role in the Middle East, facilitating a historic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran and sending an envoy to the region to push for a ceasefire in the Zionist-Hamas conflict.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged all nations on Tuesday to cease weapon exports to the Zionist entity. Saudi Arabia demands the start of a serious and comprehensive peace process to establish a Palestinian state along the borders of 1967, the Prince Mohammed said. "The kingdom's position is constant and firm; there is no way to achieve security and stability in Palestine except through the implementation of international decisions related to the two-state solution," MBS said.
MBS reiterated the kingdom's rejection of the Zionist entity's military operations in the Gaza Strip and demanded an immediate halt to them. He said that the "brutal crimes" unfolding in Gaza demand a collective effort to bring them to an end. MBS restated Saudi Arabia's rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and called for collective efforts to stop the deterioration of the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. Saudi Arabia made tireless efforts since the beginning of the war on Oct 7 to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, he added.
BRICS, an acronym for its member countries, sees itself as a counterweight to the US and Western-led global order. Describing Hamas' attacks and captive taking as "barbaric acts" Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said they did "not justify the use of indiscriminate and disproportionate force against civilians". Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has accused the West of stoking tensions in the Middle East and criticized the Zionist entity for its conduct in the conflict, said a "long-term and sustainable ceasefire" was key to "prevent other states from being drawn into the war".
"The concerns of the Palestinian people must be addressed in a serious and sustainable manner, this can only happen with the two-state solution that is based on peaceful coexistence," said India's foreign minister SubrahmanyamJaishankar. Representatives from Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates - countries that are all due to join BRICS in January 2024 - were also invited to the talks.
South Africa has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party often linking it to its own struggle against apartheid. Earlier this month, it recalled all its diplomats from the Zionist entity and last week it joined four other nations in calling for an International Criminal Court investigation into the conflict. On Monday, the Zionist entity's foreign ministry said it had also recalled its ambassador to Pretoria for consultations. The summit came as a delegation of foreign ministers of the Palestinian Authority, Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan hold talks this week on the conflict. - Agencies
Source: Kuwait Times