Praise for legal action undertaken by South Africa, case against Israel at the International Court of Justice League condemns repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanese and Syrian territories, latest of which targeted a residential neighborhood in Damascus on Saturday CAIRO: The Council of the League of Arab States has condemned continuing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, which has targeted tens of thousands of civilians and subjected Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to a deadly siege. The permanent delegates at the council held an emergency meeting on Monday to focus on Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people. The council affirmed all its previous decisions on the issue, highlighting its support for the Palestinians in their legitimate struggle against the Israeli occupation, and their right to an independent state. It condemned the continued crimes of Israel against the Palestinian people. The body also urged the UN Security Council not to fail in its responsibilities to maintain international peace and security, and to take a binding decision to stop the systematic and widespread Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, which endangered regional and global peace and security. The Arab delegates called on the US and countries that supported Israeli aggression against Palestinians to uphold positions consistent with international law and international humanitarian law. The league’s council also warned of the danger of the forced displacement of about 2 million Palestinian citizens inside the Gaza Strip. It added that Arab countries would not allow a repeat of the Nakba of 1948. It stressed it would not tolerate Israeli plans to displace Palestinian people and would take the necessary political, diplomatic, legal, and economic steps to prevent it, given that its goal was to eradicate the Palestinian cause. The body added that confronting the displacement of Palestinians should not be limited merely to statements and verbal positions. Instead, it should be done by obligating Israel to take a series of steps, including immediately stopping aggression, bombing, destruction, and killing; lifting its siege; and ensuring a flow of relief to the Gaza Strip. The council also condemned an escalation of Israeli crimes in the occupied West Bank. The council praised efforts undertaken by South Africa in its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and extended appreciation to other supportive countries. It condemned repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanese and Syrian territories, the latest of which targeted a residential neighborhood in Damascus on Saturday. The council stressed that the only way to achieve security, stability, and peace in the region was for the Palestinian people to gain their freedom and independence by ending the Israeli occupation. The body stressed its support for joint Egyptian-Qatari efforts to procure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk, the permanent representative of Palestine to the Arab League, said that Palestine had submitted a request to hold an extraordinary session of the council at the level of permanent delegates to address the continued crimes of Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.