Arab League Calls for UN Peacekeepers in Palestine

The Arab League called for a UN peacekeeping force in the Palestinian territories and an international peace conference at a summit dominated by the war between Israel and Hamas.

In its final statement following a meeting in Manama, the 22-member grouping called for "international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territories" until a two-state solution is implemented.

It also adopted calls by host Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to "convene an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations, to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution".

The meeting of Arab heads of state and government convened in Bahrain more than seven months into the conflict in Gaza that has convulsed the wider region.

Speaking at the summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the war in Gaza as "an open wound that threatens to infect the entire region", calling for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages".

Guterres said "the only permanent way to end the cycle of violence and instability is through a two-state solution".

The so-called "Manama Declaration" issued by the Arab nations also urged "all Palestinian factions to join under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization", which is dominated by Abbas's ruling Fatah movement.

It added that it considered the PLO "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people".

It is the first time the bloc has come together since an extraordinary summit in Riyadh, capital of neighboring Saudi Arabia, in November that also involved leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, based in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

The summit in Bahrain strongly condemned the attacks on commercial ships.