Islamic Nations: "Urgent Summit Convened to Address Israel-Gaza Crisis"

In a significant development, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a prominent assembly of Islamic nations, has summoned an "urgent extraordinary meeting" in Saudi Arabia to deliberate on the escalating Israel-Gaza conflict. This meeting, chaired by Saudi Arabia, aims to address the growing military tensions and the grave threat faced by defenseless civilians in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia, currently presiding over the Islamic Summit, has extended invitations to OIC member nations to participate in this critical meeting scheduled to take place in Jeddah on Wednesday.

The OIC, which boasts a membership of 57 nations across four continents and labels itself as "The collective voice of the Muslim world," is the second-largest organization globally after the United Nations.

This swift response from the OIC comes on the same day when Saudi Arabia suspended discussions regarding the potential normalization of relations with Israel. Notably, Saudi Arabia has never recognized Israel and refrained from joining the 2020 US-brokered Abraham Accords, which witnessed some of its Gulf neighbors, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco, establishing formalities with Israel.

The recent escalation in the Israel-Gaza conflict was triggered by a large-scale attack launched by Hamas on October 7, resulting in the loss of 1,300 lives. In retaliation, Israel initiated a bombing campaign that has claimed the lives of at least 2,215 individuals in the Gaza Strip. There are concerns about the possibility of an Israeli ground invasion of the territory.

Saudi Arabia's decision to halt discussions on potential normalization with Israel is a significant development, as it follows mounting pressure from the US administration, led by President Joe Biden, urging Saudi Arabia to follow in the footsteps of its Gulf neighbors.

Under the de facto leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, son of the aging King Salman, Riyadh had set specific conditions for normalization, including security guarantees from Washington and assistance in developing a civilian nuclear program.

In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has expressed increasing apprehension about the plight of Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where Israel has thousands of airstrikes and ordered the evacuation of the territory's northern regions, compelling thousands to flee.

In a notable shift in its stance, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, strongly denounced the displacement of Palestinians within Gaza and condemned attacks on "defenseless civilians," marking its most critical stance against Israel since the outbreak of the war.