The Arab Ambassadors Council hosted Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and the United Nations at the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
During the meeting, the attendees discussed the ongoing escalation between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israeli forces, and explored potential political courses of action. Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps, stressed the critical importance of condemning all forms of violence, particularly actions that result in the killing and targeting of civilians, as such actions violate international and humanitarian law. He commended Lord Tariq's efforts to de-escalate the regional situation.
The Arab ambassadors highlighted the immediate necessity of halting the escalation, abiding by international law, and promoting peace through dialogue and negotiations. They underscored the need to end the escalation in the Gaza Strip, which undermines the two-state solution and the prospects of achieving peace. They called for urgent measures to lift the Gaza siege, enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and urged restraint to prevent catastrophic humanitarian and security consequences.
Lord Tariq emphasized the importance of enhanced collective efforts to prevent further escalation, ensure the safety of civilians, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza through the Rafah Border Crossing.
The Ambassadors stressed the significance of achieving a just peace that upholds the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, resolves the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and establishes an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the borders of June 4, 1967. They cautioned that a lack of prospects for a political solution could lead to despair, violence, extremism, heightened tensions, and a loss of confidence in the peace process as a means of resolving the situation and maintaining regional security and stability.