Prince Mohammed bin Salman urges global action in BRICS summit to halt Gaza crisis

Riyadh: His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, and Prime Minister, deputizing for Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, led the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s delegation at the Extraordinary Joint Meeting of BRICS Leaders and leaders of invited BRICS members on the situation in the Middle East, with particular focus on Gaza.

The meeting took place via video conference.

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, delivered the following speech:

“I conveyed to you the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and his wishes that This extraordinary summit, which is being held at a difficult time for the Gaza Strip, will be successful.

We would like to thank the president of the Republic of South Africa for hosting the summit and for inviting the Kingdom to participate in it.

The brutal crimes against innocent civilians and the destruction of infrastructure, including health facilities and places of worship, in Gaza, require a collective effort to stop this humanitarian catastrophe, which continues to worsen by the day and to come up with decisive solutions to it. We reiterate our categorical Rejection of these operations that have claimed the lives of thousands of children, women, and the elderly. We demand an immediate stop of the military operations, and the provision of humanitarian corridors to enable international humanitarian organizations to perform their role and aid civilians.

The Kingdom has exerted relentless efforts, since the beginning of the operations, to help and protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, by providing humanitarian and relief aid by air and sea and launching an urgent fundraising campaign that has collected, so far, over half a billion SAR.

The Kingdom also held an extraordinary joint Arab and Islamic summit in Riyadh, on November 11, 2023, to discuss the Israeli aggression.

The summit came up with several decisions. It denounced the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and rejected any pretext justifying it, calling for immediate delivery of humanitarian aid convoys of food, medicines, and fuel into the besieged strip. It also rejected the forcible displacement of the Palestinian people and the Israeli destruction of hospitals in the strip, urging all countries to stop exporting weapons and ammunition to Israel, and embark on an effort, in the name of all members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League, to reach an international stance regarding the aggression on Gaza, and make a pressure for the launch of a serious political process to realize a permanent, comprehensive peace, based on international legitimacy.

The Kingdom's firm and unaltered stance has always been and remains that security and stability in Palestine can be achieved only through implementing international resolutions pertaining to the two-state solution, in order to enable the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate right to establish an independent and Palestinian sovereign state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

We also appreciate all efforts, which will be exerted, in particular by the permanent members of the UN Security Council, with the aim of achieving just peace for all. We also commend the role and effort exerted by BRICS to assist the brotherly Palestinian people.

We extend our thanks to His Excellency the President and the attending leaders. We hope that this summit will achieve the noble goals for which it was convened. Thank you."