Saudi Arabia calls out ‘double standard’ in world's response to Israel-Hamas war

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia blasted "double standards" in the global reaction to the Israel-Hamas conflict on Saturday, claiming that Israel was being given a pass for breaking international law.

“We are watching and observing the double standards, and we are reassessing based on this the credibility of international systems,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a press conference following an extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh, Arab News reported.

He added: “If there is no commitment binding everyone to these foundations, it is difficult to speak of these foundations as unifying foundations.”

During the conference, Israel's justification of its activities against Palestinians was rejected by the Kingdom and other Muslim nations, who demanded an immediate end to military operations in Gaza.

When asked if there was any chance of an Islamic or Arab bloc applying pressure to the UN Security Council, or whether the UN body “will continue to fail Palestine,” Prince Faisal said the “Arab League sponsored a resolution in the UN General Assembly that came out with a very strong message.”

The bloc “pointed out the failure of the UN Security Council to live up to its responsibility and this highlights the whole situation, the need for reform of the international security structure,” he added.

Prince Faisal said that the Security Council has shown that “it is unable to live up to the expectations of the international community and that reform is absolutely necessary.”

According to the Kingdom's top diplomat, the global security structure is under evaluation “because if the international community cannot hold Israel to account, then this will sow significant doubts among many of us as to whether or not the parameters of the established international order are actually functional and working.”

Earlier, the summit urged the International Criminal Court to investigate “war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel is committing” in the Palestinian territories, according to a final communique

Attendees included dozens of dignitaries, such as Syrian President Bashar Assad, who was welcomed back into the Arab League this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman affirmed the Kingdom’s “condemnation and categorical rejection of this barbaric war against our brothers in Palestine.”

Addressing the summit, he said: “We are facing a humanitarian catastrophe that proves the failure of the Security Council and the international community to put an end to the flagrant Israeli violations of international laws.”

President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians were facing a “genocidal war” and called on the US to end Israeli “aggression.”

Since Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, tensions in the Middle East have been high.

According to Palestinian sources, as of Friday, 11,078 individuals had died as a result of Israel's attack on Gaza, 40% of whom were children.