GCC leaders reaffirm support for Palestine and Gaza truce at Bahrain meeting

The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), at a high-level meeting on Dec 3, reaffirmed support for Palestine and the United States-brokered Gaza truce, including relevant United Nations resolutions, while condemning Israel's continued aggression and demanding its troop withdrawal from occupied lands.

The 46th session of the Supreme Council of the GCC, held at Al Sakhir Palace in Bahrain under the presidency of Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, took place a day after the United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt two resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Israel from occupied territories in Palestine and Syria's Golan Heights.

In the final communique published by the Bahrain News Agency, the Supreme Council reaffirmed the GCC's support for US President Donald Trump and the outcomes of the "Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit" and for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and its rejection of any attempts to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip".

They stressed the need to respect the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state, warning against any plans aimed at undermining their inalienable rights.

"The Supreme Council held Israel fully responsible for its ongoing violations and attacks against the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, most of them women and children, and rejected any justifications or pretexts portraying the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip as self-defense," the communique said.

The Supreme Council also called on the international community to intervene to stop targeting the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes, attempts to change its legal and historical character, its demographic composition and the arrangements related to the Islamic holy sites, and attempts to impose Israeli sovereignty over them.

They reiterated that Israeli actions were in clear violation of international law, international resolutions and relevant existing agreements.

The condemnation also comes after an Israeli military unit announced on Dec 3 that the Rafah Crossing would open in the coming days "exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt".

"The residents' exit through the Rafah Crossing will be facilitated through coordination with Egypt, following security approval by Israel and under the supervision of the European Union mission, similar to the mechanism that operated in January 2025," Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, said.

Egypt's State Information Service said on Dec 3 that an official source has denied the country's coordination with Israel on opening the Rafah crossing soon for Gazans' exit into Egypt, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Israel's announcement has stoked depopulation fears in Gaza.

Hussein Haridy, a former Egyptian assistant foreign minister, said Egypt remains "committed to UN Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on Oct 17 last year, which endorsed a ceasefire plan", Al Jazeera reported.

He noted that all crossings should be opened, according to the resolution, and Egypt is working with the European Union and the Palestinian Authority on operating the posts, including Rafah, when conditions allow, Haridy said.

He said that ever since 1948, when Israel was established, "we've become accustomed to Israeli maneuvering when it comes to implementing ceasefire agreements". Haridy added that they would take Israel to task if the UNSC resolution is not implemented, according to Al Jazeera.

The GCC communique also condemned the continued attacks of Israel in the West Bank and its systematic destruction of infrastructure, calling on the international community to exert efforts to prevent further loss of life and to avoid further escalation in the occupied territory.

In his opening address, Secretary-General of the GCC Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi noted that the GCC witnessed "two painful incidents" that demonstrated to the world that the Gulf's destiny, security and voice are "one".

The first incident was the Iranian missile attacks that targeted a US military base in Qatar in June this year, while the second was "the brutal Israeli aggression on the State of Qatar during Qatari mediation efforts to sow the seeds of peace in Gaza" in September, which led to the death of Badr Al Dosari (A Qatari internal security force member), the loss of civilian lives, and the endangerment of residents and diplomats in a residential area crowded with schools and diplomatic missions.

He reiterated the GCC states' positions on the Palestinian cause and the emphasis on the centrality of this issue, the necessity of ending Israel's occupation, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Jasim Husain, a former member of the Bahrain parliament, lauded the timing of the summit in Bahrain as it "definitely reaffirmed the drive" by Trump and need for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

He also noted the Council's denouncement of Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear sites, which took place in June this year.

"This was very clear. I think the Iranians must be pleased, specifically (condemning) attacks on nuclear facilities that could endanger the whole region, including the GCC, and reaffirming commitment for solving ongoing problems through peaceful and only peaceful means," said Husain.

Meanwhile, Trump said on Dec 3 that phase two of his Gaza plan is "going to happen pretty soon" but sidestepped the question on its start, saying only that things were "going along well".