Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif suggested the formation of a task force Monday to counter Israeli aggression and expansionism as an Arab-Islamic summit considered a draft resolution and response on a recent attack on Qatar.
Leaders from around 50 states are attending the high-level moot, which is being held under the umbrella of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
PM Shehbaz said the attack on Doha was targeted by an “aggressor who violates international law seriously”. He said Pakistan condemned the attack, saying it clearly meant to undermine the peace efforts in the Middle East.
“This is a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Qatar and we express our solidarity with our brothers: the Qataris. The Israeli attack on Qatar is not apart from the other attacks, it is hegemonic ambition on part of Israel to control the whole region and the role of mediators is always considered to be sacred and they are the hope of peace.”
He said Qatar was trying to advance regional peace while the women and children of Gaza were suffering disaster. PM Shehbaz said the whole world was “watching a massacre” in Gaza and called on it to stop now.
The premier said Pakistan emphasised the importance of taking urgent steps to put an end to the war crimes in Gaza and to “establish a task force to take effective steps to stop Israeli expansion plans”. The prime minister called for Israel’s membership in the United Nations to be suspended and said other effective steps needed to be taken against the country.
PM Shehbaz said today’s meeting confirmed the common ideas and acts of the participants to condemn the Israeli attacks.
Israel attack aimed to halt Gaza talks, Qatar emir
Qatar's emir accused Israel of trying to derail Gaza ceasefire efforts with its attack on Hamas in Doha, as Arab and Muslim leaders held emergency talks to discuss a unified response.
The joint Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit was called by Qatar to pile pressure on Israel, which has been facing mounting calls to end the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Hamas says top officials survived last week's air strike in Doha, which killed six people and triggered a wave of criticism, including a rebuke from US President Donald Trump.
Qatar has been a key mediator in talks to end the war in Gaza -- alongside Egypt and the United States -- and the Israeli strike came as Hamas officials were discussing a new US proposal.
"Whoever works diligently and systematically to assassinate the party with whom he is negotiating, intends to thwart the negotiations," Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in his opening remarks.
"Negotiations, for them, are merely part of the war."
The emir also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "dreams of turning the Arab region into an Israeli sphere of influence, and this is a dangerous illusion".
A draft final statement from the summit warned that Israel's "brutal" aggression "threatens all that has been achieved on the path toward establishing normal relations with Israel, including existing and future agreements".
Erdogan calls for self-sufficiency in Arab, Islamic world
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says: “There is a greedy, bloodthirsty mentality among Israeli officials.”
“We must achieve self-sufficiency in many areas of development and intensify our cooperation in these areas. Economic pressure must be exerted on Israel, and past experience has proven the success of such pressure.
“Mechanisms for joint cooperation among Islamic countries must be developed. We cannot accept the displacement of the Palestinian people, their genocide or partition.
He said the escalating Israeli aggression poses a direct threat to our region.
“I hope our decisions today will be translated into a written declaration addressed to the entire world. It has become clear that the Netanyahu government aims to continue the massacres against the Palestinian people and drag the region into chaos. Israeli politicians repeat illusions about the so-called Greater Israel. We must strive to bring Israeli officials to justice in accordance with international legal mechanisms.”
Israeli violations due to ‘impunity they have been enjoying’: Iran’s president
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says countries must “seek the means to stand up” against Israeli assaults in Qatar and on his country.
Pezeshkian said Israel’s attack was not “spur of the moment” but part of the policies of the Israeli forces and the “impunity they have been enjoying”.
“For the past two years, Gaza and the Palestinians in Gaza have been suffering greatly, and as we speak, Gaza is still reeling under Israeli fire,” he said.
“We should act together to stand up to Israeli behaviour because Israel has violated the sovereignty of a number of Arab and Muslim states under the false pretext of self-defence.”
He added that the weak condemnation of Israel from the international community is allowing it to continue its attacks with impunity.
Pezeshkian says leaders should reinforce their “unity and solidarity” to stand up against Israel.
The president added that Israel had not only “violated” Iran’s sovereignty during a 12-day war in June but also violated the “dignity of our people”.
“We should stand up to these threats, reiterating that any further crimes cannot be tolerated and shall not remain silent towards what is unfolding now in Gaza or what has taken place in Beirut or Yemen,” he urged.
Pezeshkian said unity must not only be based on their shared religion but also on the “shared tenets of humanity”.
‘Condemnations will not stop the missiles’: Malaysia PM
Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, has warned that words and declarations won’t be enough to stop Israel’s actions in the region.
“Our people have become wary of words. They have watched us issue condemnation after condemnation, declaration after declaration, while Israel escalates with impunity, as future generations will ask whether we found the courage to act. We do not ask nations to go beyond their basic obligations,” Ibrahim said.
“Condemnations will not stop the missiles. Declarations will not free Palestine. Severe, punitive actions must be put in place. Diplomatic engagements must cease, and so must take relations with Israel”.
Palestinian Authority president demands firm Arab response to Israeli ‘crimes’
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas calls on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions while urging a “firm” Arab response.
“We call upon the international community to live up to its responsibility, to hold Israel liable and responsible for their crimes and the repeated assault on our countries and peoples, and in this direction, we call for practical measures to prevent any recurrence of these violations,” Abbas said.
Abbas also emphasised the need to end the war in Gaza, the transfer of its population and the seizing of Palestinian land.
Security in the region would also be guaranteed by the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the 1967 borders and the establishment of a Palestinian state, he added.
“The radical far-right government of Israel cannot be a partner to peace and security in our region. This demands a firm Arab and Muslim position and firm intervention by the US and the UN Security Council to bring the rogue state and its behaviour to an end.”
Israeli belligerence crossed all red lines: Egypt’s president
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says this “important summit convened at a critical moment in which a grave challenge is faced by the entire region”.
He added: “Let me make it clear: This belligerence reflects clearly that Israeli practices have gone beyond diplomatic and military logic. They have crossed all red lines. We strongly condemn Israeli belligerence on Qatar.”
Jordan says response to Qatar attack must be ‘clear, decisive and deterring’
Jordan’s King Abdullah II says the attack on Doha is “living proof” that the threat of Israel is “without limits”.
“Our response must be clear, decisive and, above all, deterring,” he said.
He said Israel has continued its expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank, undermining the possibility of a two-state solution. He added that the summit must produce practical decisions to confront Israel’s actions, end the war in Gaza and prevent the further displacement of Palestinians.
Egypt’s president adds that Israel must understand its security and sovereignty will not be achieved by force but rather by respecting the law and the sovereignty of other states.
Israel’s arrogance requires a shared vision for regional security and cooperation, el-Sisi said, adding that Egypt reaffirms its complete rejection of targeting civilians and starving an entire people.
Iraqi PM calls for collective security approach in Islamic world
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has proposed a collective response to attacks on any Arab or Islamic country in which an attack on one is treated as aggression against all.
Speaking at the emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha, al-Sudani said: “The security and stability of any Arab or Islamic country [are] an integral part of our collective security.”
Adding that “the current conditions call for moving from condemnation to coordinated collective action”, he proposed forming “a joint Arab-Islamic committee to convey our position to the UN Security Council and General Assembly, the European Union and other international fora”.
“We have a real opportunity to send a clear message confirming that the security of our countries is not a matter of negotiation,” he said.
He urged leaders at the summit to issue “a unified Arab and Islamic position condemning the attack” on Qatar, which he said had “exceeded all limits and violated every humanitarian principle”, and to develop a comprehensive roadmap for a ceasefire.
Failure to deter Israel would “lead to further instability and will not achieve security for any party”, he added.
‘An attack on any brother is an attack on us’: Lebanon’s president
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said that “an attack on any brother is an attack on us”.
He added that the real target of the aggression against Doha is the concept of mediation and the principle of solutions through dialogue.
OIC chief reiterates ‘full solidarity’ with Qatar
Hissein Brahim Taha, secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, expressed members’ “full solidarity” with Qatar in the wake of the Israeli attack.
“The summit is an opportunity to take a unified and firm stance against the heinous Israeli aggression,” he said. “We reiterate our strong condemnation of the blatant attack on the State of Qatar and its territorial sovereignty.”
He called for the Arab and Islamic states present to take “firm decisions” against Israel and on the wider international community – particularly the UN Security Council – “to assume its responsibilities and hold Israel accountable for its crimes”.
“We affirm our support for the outcomes of the international conference to resolve the Palestinian issue and the two-state solution,” he said.
“We are confident that the outcomes of this summit will strengthen Arab and Islamic solidarity.”
Israel and its main backer the United States have been trying to expand the Abraham Accords, which established ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020.
'Actions, not just rhetoric'
As the meeting opened in Doha, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was visiting Israel in a demonstration of Washington's steadfast support.
Rubio will head to Qatar, also a staunch Washington ally, on Tuesday, a US official said.
On Sunday, Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a preparatory meeting that "the time has come for the international community to stop using double standards and to punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed".
According to the draft statement, the nearly 60-country grouping in Doha will also emphasise "the concept of collective security... as well as the necessity of aligning together to face common challenges and threats".
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, was among those present, as were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Jordan's King Abdullah II and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also attended.
Separately, the United Nations Human Rights Council said it would host an urgent debate on Tuesday on Israel's air strike in Qatar.
And an extraordinary meeting of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council would also be held in Doha on Monday, according to Saudi state media.
Aziz Algashian, a Saudi-based researcher of international relations in the Middle East, said "many people are looking at actions, not just rhetoric" from the Arab-Islamic meeting in Doha.
"We've exhausted all forms of rhetoric. Now it's just going to have to be actions -- and we'll see what those actions will be," he said.