RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is hosting Arab leaders and Iran’s president for two summits this weekend on the ongoing war in Gaza, which is raising fears of a regional escalation.
The emergency meetings of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation come after over one month of Israeli bombardment has killed more than 10,000 people in Gaza, many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel’s campaign to destroy the Palestinian militant group has come in response to the bloody October 7 attack by Hamas militants that Israeli officials say left more than 1,400 people dead and around 240 taken hostage.
With Israel’s leaders rebuffing talk of a ceasefire until the captives are freed, anger in Saudi Arabia over the Palestinian death toll comes amid worries the war could destabilise the wider region and fears this could thwart the kingdom’s attempts to transition the economy away from oil.
The world’s biggest oil exporter and its neighbours are “united in fearing one thing in particular, which is a broader escalation”, said Elham Fakhro of Chatham House.
Two Gulf countries — the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — normalised relations with Israel in 2020, while Saudi Arabia has considered doing so, and all three cooperate with Israel’s staunch ally the United States on security matters.
“They’re very worried that they’re going to be targeted by Iranian proxy groups who are seeking retaliation against Israel and the United States,” Fakhro told a panel organised by the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
As Arab League foreign ministers held a preparatory meeting in Riyadh on Thursday, Hossam Zaki, the bloc’s assistant secretary general, said Saturday’s summit would demonstrate “how the Arabs will move on the international scene to stop the aggression, support Palestine and its people, condemn the Israeli occupation, and hold it accountable for its crimes”.
Saudi analysts said the Arab League would do well to go beyond statements condemning attacks on Gaza’s civilians, though it was unclear how the bloc might shape events on the ground.
“This (Arab League) meeting will be a success if it leads to any framework to pressure Israel to stop the war. Otherwise it will not be a success,” said Saudi analyst Sulaiman al-Oqaily.
“The urgent need now is to stop the war.”
Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, has voiced support for the Palestinian cause while denouncing incidents like the Israeli bombing last week of Gaza’s largest refugee camp which killed dozens of people.