High-level delegations from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the League of Arab States and the African Union Commission met at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah on 16 December 2025 to coordinate support for the Palestinian cause and endorse pathways toward ending the violence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The participants welcomed the peace plan announced by the President of the United States and signed at the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, which was supported by Egypt, the US, Qatar and Türkiye and endorsed by the Security Council under resolution 2803, viewing it as a starting point to halt bloodshed, ensure unhindered humanitarian access, secure withdrawal of Israeli forces and prepare for an international conference in Cairo to implement the Arab-Islamic Plan for early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza that opens a pathway to the two-state solution.
The meeting issued a firm rejection of any unilateral measures on the Rafah Crossing and expressed absolute opposition to any attempts to displace Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank, describing forced displacement as a war crime and a violation of international humanitarian law. The delegations demanded that Rafah and other crossings be permanently and securely opened in both directions to allow full humanitarian relief.
Participants warned against settlement policies and the systematic blockade that render Gaza unlivable, condemned measures amounting to starvation, and denounced ongoing occupation practices in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, such as settler expansion, arbitrary arrests, plans of annexation, incursions and destruction of homes and infrastructure resulting in displacement.
The delegations stressed the illegality of all settlements and called for their dismantlement and removal of settlers from occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. They also raised alarm over rising incidents of organized settler violence under the protection of occupation forces, urging the international community to hold perpetrators accountable under international criminal law and to implement Security Council measures aimed at disarmament of extremist settler groups.
All steps taken to alter the political, geographic and demographic status of occupied Jerusalem were rejected, with a clear call to preserve the historical and legal status of Islamic and Christian holy sites, notably the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The meeting also condemned reports of forced disappearance, execution, torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners, raised specific concern about the storming by extremist minister Ben Gvir of the cell of Palestinian leader Marwan Bargouthi and demanded disclosure of the fate of detainees and measures to secure their release and protection.
The three organizations urged the international community to pursue accountability through national, regional and international courts, particularly the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, to end impunity and provide international protection for the Palestinian people. They reaffirmed that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and called on states to support the Government of the State of Palestine to assume full responsibility across the occupied territory, including Gaza, and to restore seized Palestinian tax revenues.
The delegations welcomed the Emergency Coalition for Financial Sustainability of the Palestinian Authority announced by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and encouraged additional states to join the initiative. They also welcomed the United Nations General Assembly endorsement of the New York Declaration and called for its implementation, while supporting the International Court of Justice advisory opinion and the General Assembly decision to extend UNRWA’s mandate for three years, underscoring the need for political, legal and financial backing for the agency and condemning actions targeting its work.
Referencing the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry of 16 September 2025, the meeting recalled its finding that genocide had been committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza and urged immediate international action to implement the commission’s recommendations. The delegations commended states that recognized the State of Palestine in September 2025 and called on remaining states to grant recognition and support full United Nations membership as essential steps toward realizing a just and lasting peace.
The organizations affirmed that a comprehensive settlement depends on implementing the two-state solution based on the 4 June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian state, consistent with international law, relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. They renewed their commitment to advance UN and regional resolutions and called on member states to take practical steps toward achieving the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to independence, return and self-determination.
