The foreign ministers of eight Muslim countries on Sunday condemned Israel's rejection of a recently released roadmap for fully implementing US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Türkiye, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates said the rejection amounts to a “direct repudiation” of the peace plan, “jeopardizes its implementation, and fundamentally undermines the collective efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace.” “Such rejection confirms that Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” they said in statement. The roadmap, which has been accepted by the Palestinian factions, is the conclusion of extensive efforts exerted by the mediators, namely Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, the US, the High Representative of Gaza and the Board of Peace and constitutes a vital milestone for the decommissioning of weapons concurrently with the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the deployment of the International Stabilization Force, the transfer of the administrative authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and the reconstruction of Gaza as stipulated in the Comprehensive Plan, they went on to say. Rejecting the roadmap is “an explicit refusal to proceed with the implementation of the peace plan, and directly threatens to derail the extensive efforts exerted by Trump to bring an end to the war in Gaza and establish the conditions for lasting peace.” The ministers underscored “the importance of sustained and active US engagement to ensure and enforce Israel’s full compliance with the commitments and arrangements envisaged under the peace plan and its roadmap, and to prevent further obstruction of their implementation.” “Israel bears direct and full responsibility for any consequences resulting from its continued rejection, obstruction, delay or non-compliance, including any resulting deterioration of the situation on the ground and disruption of ending the war in Gaza,” they added. They underlined the urgent need for the full and immediate implementation of the peace plan in order to address the grave humanitarian situation, ensure security and stability for all in Gaza, and pave the way for reconstruction and recovery and advancing a just and lasting peace grounded in the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood in accordance with international law, paving the way for security and stability for all countries and peoples of the region. They categorically rejected any attempt to deny or foreclose Palestinian statehood including through unilateral actions. “A just, lasting and comprehensive peace only will be achieved by the implementation of two-state solution, by the realization of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions,” they added. “Any attempt to deny or foreclose Palestinian statehood therefore directly undermines the prospects for peace, security and stability throughout the region,” they warned. The ministers underscored the importance of the continued role of the Board of Peace and call all parties to support its efforts for the implementation of the roadmap and advancing the second phase of Trump’s peace plan. The ministers called on the Board of Peace, with the active support and engagement of the US, to take immediate and concrete measures within its mandate to uphold the integrity of the peace plan and prevent any party from obstructing its implementation.
