The leaders of the BRICS nations have called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during an extraordinary summit of the bloc, as Israel continues its deadly bombing campaign in the besieged enclave.
The BRICS leaders made the appeal during a virtual meeting hosted by South Africa on Tuesday, aimed at discussing the situation in Gaza and finding a solution to the ongoing war.
Addressing the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza, stressing the need for convening an “international peace conference” to work toward an early solution to the question of Palestine that is “comprehensive, just and sustainable.”
He went on to say that there could be “no sustainable peace and security in the Middle East without a just solution to the question of Palestine”.
Xi further noted that humanitarian corridors to Gaza “must be kept secure and unimpeded, and more humanitarian assistance should be provided to the population in Gaza.”
“The collective punishment of people in Gaza in the form of forced transfer or water, electricity and fuel deprivation must stop,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also called on the international community to implement a truce in Gaza and resolve the ongoing conflict through diplomacy.
He also urged regional governments and the BRICS alliance to join forces in the pursuit of a diplomatic resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We want the international world to work together to defuse the situation, implement a truce, and resolve the Palestinian-Israeli problem through diplomacy. Additionally, the region’s nations and the BRICS states may be crucial to this effort,” Putin told the summit.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chaired the meeting of the BRICS group, accused Israel of war crimes and “genocide” in Gaza.
“The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime. The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide,” Ramaphosa said.
He also called for an “immediate and comprehensive ceasefire” and the deployment of a UN force “to monitor the cessation of hostilities and protect civilians.”
Ramaphosa further urged all countries “to desist from fueling” the conflict and stop supplying weapons to the warring parties.
“Let this meeting stand as a clarion call for us to combine our efforts and strengthen our actions to end this historical injustice,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also called on all nations to cease weapon exports to Israel, emphasizing that the “brutal crimes” unfolding in Gaza demand a collective effort to bring them to an end.
He also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, calling for collective efforts to stop the deterioration of the humanitarian conditions in the blockaded territory.
The Saudi Crown Prince further stated that the kingdom demands the start of a serious and comprehensive peace process to establish a Palestinian state along the borders of 1967.
“The Kingdom’s position is constant and firm; there is no way to achieve security and stability in Palestine except through the implementation of international decisions related to the two-state solution,” he said.
The BRICS group of countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — are expected to issue a joint statement after the talks.
Representatives from Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates — countries that are all due to join the group in January 2024 — were also invited to the talks aimed at a “de-escalation” of the ongoing war in Gaza.
Israel waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories in response to the occupying regime’s intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.
According to the Gaza-based health ministry, at least 13,300 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, most of them women and children, and injured around 31,000 others.
Tel Aviv has also imposed a “complete siege” on Gaza, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
