KUWAIT CITY, Oct 14: MPs Saud Al Asfour, Shuaib Shaaban, Hamad Al-Elyan, and Jarrah Al-Fawzan called for organizing a special parliamentary session to show solidarity with the Palestinians. The call was received with support from a large number of MPs. The demonstration held at Al-Erada Square witnessed a parliamentary presence. MPs Abdullah Al-Mudhaf, Hani Shams, and Bader Nashmi Al-Anzi expressed their strong solidarity with Palestinian rights. MP Abdullah Al-Mudhaf said supporting the Palestinian issue is necessary not only on Islamic and Arab bases but also on humanitarian grounds. He stressed that anyone with a humanitarian sense has to support the right of Palestinian people to defend their nation against the Israeli occupation until they obtain their independence.

Massacres
MP Al-Mudhaf said he wondered about the double standards shown by the international community when dealing with this issue, in terms of staying silent about the Israeli massacres and attacking the Palestinians when they resist the occupation of their homeland. In this regard, MP Bader Nashmi Al Anzi said he came to Al-Erada Square along with his children in order to teach them that the Palestinian issue is their issue as well. He said he received this message from his parents and he is delivering it to his children so that the Palestinian issue will continue to survive.

MP Hani Shams stressed that every Arab and Muslim individual should support Palestinian rights, stressing that the National Assembly will prioritize the bills that call for criminalizing any form of normalization of the relations with Israel as well as insist on boycotting Israel. Meanwhile, the Arab Parliament, headed by Speaker Abdulrahman Al-Asousi held its third general assembly of the fourth term in Cairo on Saturday, October 14. During the session, they discussed the proposals submitted for stopping the Israeli attacks on Gaza and identifying the popular and parliamentary efforts to support the Palestinian people and enhance solidarity with their rights.

Statement
The Arab Parliament approved the Kuwaiti proposal to title the session as “Solidarity with Gaza”, and issued a statement to hail the steadfastness of the Palestinian people. It called upon the parliaments of all friendly countries to support the Palestinians who are exposed to massacres that are targeting civilians including women and children, and buildings and properties such as hospitals, houses, and vehicles in addition to causing a humanitarian catastrophe by cutting off water and electricity supply and preventing ambulances from carrying the victims to hospitals. The Arab Parliament totally rejected the calls for the Palestinians to evacuate Gaza, indicating that he considers such calls as an attempt to end the Palestinian issue based on unfair grounds. During the session, they discussed the reports of the Foreign Affairs Committee concerning political and security issues, particularly the ongoing crisis in Gaza and the Israeli attacks on the Palestinian cities. In Saudi, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Saturday for protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip and Israel as he intensified his diplomatic outreach across the Middle East and beyond for an international response to prevent the Israel- Hamas war from expanding.

Blinken met with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh before stopping in the United Arab Emirates as he sought ways to help civilians trapped in between the fighting and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis. Israel’s military has ordered half of the Palestinian territory’s population to evacuate in advance of an expected ground assault, but there were few good options for those fleeing as border crossings remained closed. Blinken also called Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to seek his country’s help in preventing the war from spreading, asking Beijing to use whatever influence it has in the Mideast. Blinken’s spokesman declined to characterize Wang’s response but said the U.S. believes it and China have a shared interest in the region’s stability. In Riyadh, Blinken and Faisal stressed the importance of minimizing the harm to civilians as Israel prepared for an anticipated incursion against Hamas a week after the militant group’s unprecedented attack against Israel. “As Israel pursues its legitimate right, to defend its people and to try to ensure that this never happens again, it is vitally important that all of us look out for civilians, and we’re working together to do exactly that,” Blinken said. “None of us want to see suffering by civilians on any side, whether it’s in Israel, whether it’s in Gaza, whether it’s anywhere else,” Blinken said.

The Saudi minister said the kingdom was committed to the protection of civilians. “It’s a disturbing situation,” he said. “It’s a very difficult situation. And, as you know, the primary sufferers of this situation are civilians, and civilian populations on both sides are being affected and it’s important, I think, that we all condemn the targeting of civilians in any form at any time by anyone.” Elsewhere, Palestinians struggled Saturday to flee from areas of Gaza targeted by the Israeli military while grappling with a growing water crisis after Israel stopped the flow of resources to the region ahead of an expected land offensive a week after Hamas’ bloody, wide-ranging attack into Israel. Israel renewed calls on social media and in leaflets dropped from the air for Gaza residents to move south, while Hamas urged people to stay in their homes. The U.N. and aid groups have said such a rapid exodus would cause untold human suffering for hospitalized patients, older adults, and others unable to relocate.

The evacuation directive covers an area of 1.1 million residents or about half of the territory’s population. The Israeli military said “hundreds of thousands” of Palestinians had already heeded the warning and headed south. It said Palestinians could travel within Gaza without being harmed along two main routes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time. It was not clear how many Palestinians remained in north Gaza by Saturday afternoon, said Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. “What we know is that hundreds of thousands of people have fled. And that 1 million people have been displaced in total in one week,” she said. Families in cars, trucks and donkey carts packed with possessions crowded a main road heading away from Gaza City as Israeli airstrikes continued to hammer the 40-kilometer (25-mile) long territory, where supplies of food, fuel, and drinking water were running low because of a complete Israeli siege.

Water has stopped coming out of taps across the territory. Amal Abu Yahia, a 25-year-old pregnant mother in the Jabaliya refugee camp, said she waits anxiously for a few minutes each day or every other day when contaminated water trickles from the pipes in her basement. She then rations it, prioritizing her 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. She said she is drinking so little herself, that she only urinates every other day. Near the coast, the only tap water is contaminated with Mediterranean Sea water because of the lack of sanitation facilities. Mohammed Ibrahim, 28, said his neighbors in Gaza City have taken to drinking the salt water.

The Israeli military’s evacuation would force the territory’s entire population to cram into the southern half of the Gaza Strip as Israel continues strikes across the territory, including in the south. Rami Swailem said he and at least five families in his building decided to stay put in his apartment near Gaza City. “We are rooted in our lands,” he said. “We prefer to die in dignity and face our destiny.” Others were looking desperately for ways to evacuate. “We need a number for drivers from Gaza to the south, it is necessary #help,” read a post on social media. Another person wrote: “We need a bus number, office, or any means of transport,” posted another.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff and Agencies