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Leaders of Gulf countries gathered in Bahrain's capital Manama on Thursday for the 33rd Arab League summit. The central issue of the summit was the Gaza War and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Inaugurating the summit, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged the international community to take steps to stop Israel's aggression. In the summit, Arab leaders have also talked about considering PLO as the voice of the Palestinian people instead of Hamas.
What is the demand?
A UN peacekeeping force should be deployed in the disputed area until a Palestinian state is established. The 'Manama Declaration' issued by the 22-member group called for the deployment of UN international security and peacekeeping forces in the occupied Palestinian territories until a two-state solution is reached.
Will Hamas cease to exist?
The declaration appealed to all Palestinian groups to join the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO is dominated by the Fatah faction and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also comes from this faction. The United Nations also recognizes the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The PLO and Hamas have been at odds for decades. While the PLO seeks independence for Palestine through diplomatic means, Hamas advocates taking back its land through a military coup. In such a situation, if the Arab League proposal is accepted then the question is whether Hamas will cease to exist.
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
The PLO was founded in 1964 to bring together all groups fighting for the independence of Palestine. The PLO includes 11 groups in Palestine. The PLO initially wanted to destroy the State of Israel and establish an Arab state over the entire territory of Palestine. However, in 1993 the PLO under the leadership of Yasser Arafat recognized Israeli sovereignty with the Oslo Accords and now demands Arab statehood only in the Palestinian territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip) following the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.
Demand for Palestinian state
To this day, Hamas is calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state throughout the region and the uprooting of Israel from Arab lands. However, some Hamas leaders in ongoing ceasefire talks amid the Gaza war have also called for a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.
Demand for Palestinian state intensifies
Last week the UN Council overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution to make Palestine a full member of the UN and called on the UN Security Council to reconsider it. Last month, the US vetoed a proposal for Palestine's full membership.
Heavy casualties in Gaza war
Almost 7 months have passed since the Gaza war started after the Hamas attack on October 7, but the war is showing no signs of stopping. Since the beginning of this war, about 36 thousand people have been killed in Gaza, including about 15 thousand children. 80 percent of Gaza's infrastructure has been destroyed by Israeli attacks and Gazans are dependent on the outside world even for basic amenities.