BARCELONA/CAIRO, Nov 28 (MENA) – Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit accused Israel on Friday of escalating military operations in Gaza in an attempt to derail the ceasefire agreement, saying continued restrictions on humanitarian aid are deepening an already catastrophic situation.
Speaking at the 10th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona, Spain, Abul Gheit said Israel is still blocking the entry of humanitarian supplies, including essential materials needed for early recovery and to support Gaza’s overstretched health system.
He said Palestinians have endured the deadliest and most destructive conflict since the 1948 Nakba, adding that the aim has been to displace the population or strip them of their land. “More than 67,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children,” he said, citing shattered institutions and a decimated civilian infrastructure. After two years of conflict, he added, the region has returned “to square one” and it has become clear that the occupation is unsustainable and a recipe for ongoing violence and regional instability.
Abul Gheit said US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan has laid out a path to address the Gaza situation, and that UN Security Council Resolution 2803 has granted the plan international legitimacy. While major parties are prepared to move quickly to the next phase, he said Israel appears unwilling to allow Palestinians to rebuild their devastated lives.
He praised principled European positions that upheld the values of justice and humanity, saying the past two years had tested global commitment to universal human rights. He added that the Palestinian cause has gained new international sympathy and support, with many people worldwide rejecting Israeli narratives they once accepted. The growing movement to recognize a Palestinian state, he said, would continue to play a central role in returning the issue to the global agenda.
Abul Gheit highlighted the unanimous adoption of the New York Declaration in September, which he said has outlined a detailed roadmap for establishing a sovereign Palestinian state. A ceasefire, he stressed, is only a first step, and the goal must be a lasting political settlement. He called for continued joint efforts by Arab and European states across the Mediterranean, arguing that the closer a Palestinian state comes to reality, the more stable the region will become.
He also addressed wider regional issues, warning that the war in Sudan threatens the country’s unity and has produced what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with about nine million internally displaced people and more than 3.5 million refugees. He urged a humanitarian truce as the first step toward a political settlement and welcomed regional and US efforts to halt the fighting. He also underlined the need to preserve Sudan’s territorial integrity, institutions and armed forces.
Turning to Libya, Abul Gheit welcomed the UN roadmap aimed at unifying institutions and holding elections, calling it the only way to end prolonged transitional phases. He said the recent signing of a unified development program by representatives of Libya’s House of Representatives and High State Council was a positive step that could support broader political settlements and revive stability in a country which remains strategically significant for the Mediterranean.
The chief of the Cairo-based pan-Arab organization pointed to climate, energy, food security, migration, development and extremism as among the shared challenges confronting the Mediterranean region. Such issues, he said, require collective action grounded in mutual respect and shared interests.
He reaffirmed that the Arab League would remain a reliable partner in Arab–European cooperation and said he looks forward to the upcoming sixth ministerial meeting and the second Arab-European summit. These gatherings, he said, would help build a strategic partnership capable of meeting the aspirations of peoples across the Mediterranean, keeping the region a platform for cultural exchange, stability and shared prosperity.
