Saudi Arabia's crown prince has condemned what he called the "genocide" committed by Israel against Palestinians.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de-facto ruler, made the comments as he spoke at a summit of Muslim and Arab leaders on Monday.
"The Kingdom renews its condemnation and categorical rejection of the genocide committed by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people," he said, echoing comments by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud late last month.
He urged the international community to stop Israel from attacking Iran and to respect Iran's sovereignty.
The crown prince, widely believed to have been behind the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, said in September the kingdom would not recognise Israel unless a Palestinian state were created.
US President Joe Biden's administration had sought to broker a normalisation accord between Saudi Arabia and Israel that would have included US security guarantees for the kingdom, among other bilateral deals between Washington and Riyadh.
But these efforts were put on ice after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza and Israel's subsequent conflict in Gaza and Lebanon.
In a press conference later on Monday, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit pointed to an article in a concluding statement to the summit that moved to freeze Israel’s membership in the U.N. General Assembly.
He claimed that freezing membership would not come under the Security Council’s jurisdiction and could be decided by the General Assembly.
“We might witness soon the freezing of the membership (of Israel) through a UNGA majority decision,” said Mr Aboul Gheit.
The summit's demanded all countries ban exports or transfers of weapons and ammunition to Israel and urged the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for civilian and military officials in Israel.
Israel's military assault on Gaza in the last 13 months has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly its entire population, caused a hunger crisis and led to allegations of genocide at the World Court, which Israel denies.
It came as the Lebanese health ministry said Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 3,287 people and wounded 14,222.
It said 44 people were killed and 88 wounded on Monday.
Israel launched its offensives in Gaza and later in Lebanon after Hamas terrorists stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250 as hostages.
Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third of them believed to be dead.
