Peace Summit in Cairo: Leaders Call for Ceasefire, Palestinian President Says 'We Will Not Leave'

(Patria) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said at a summit in Cairo that he had called on leaders to agree on a plan to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and revive the path to peace, Reuters reports.

Arab leaders condemned the Israeli bombing of Gaza on Saturday and called for renewed efforts to achieve a peace solution in the Middle East to end the decades-long cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Jordanian King Abdullah condemned what he called global silence on Israeli attacks on the enclave and called for an indifferent approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The message the Arab world is hearing is that Palestinian lives are less important than Israeli lives," he said, adding that he was outraged and saddened by the acts of violence against innocent civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.

"The Israeli leadership must understand once and for all that a state can never progress if it is built on the foundations of injustice... Our message to the Israelis should be that we want a future of peace and security for you and the Palestinians. The bombing of Gaza is against international law and a war crime," King Abdullah said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that Palestinians will not be displaced or expelled from their land.

"We will not leave, we will not leave, we remain on our land," he said at the summit.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the Palestinian people are "facing genocide" and are being targeted even in hospitals.

"This is a full-blown war crime that began with the killing of unarmed people and the imposition of a siege on the rest of the living. Gaza is a test today, a new test for a new world order that has repeatedly failed," he said.

"Hasn't the time come to put an end to this occupation? There is no place for Palestine except their land," added the Iraqi Prime Minister, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Iraq calls, he said, for the "complete lifting of the siege of the Gaza Strip" and the establishment of a fund for the reconstruction of Gaza.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Gaza needs continuous humanitarian aid.

Among the summit participants are the foreign ministers of EU member states and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Turkey will not allow the suffering of Palestinians.