At the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders in New York on September 27, 2025, four major Arab states—Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman—delivered an unusually coordinated and forceful rebuke of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. As regional instability deepens and humanitarian suffering mounts, these nations warned that the Middle East teeters on the brink of collapse, citing both the immediate crisis in Gaza and a broader pattern of unrest across the region.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, set the tone with a stark warning to the international community. According to Reuters, he declared, “The Middle East is at a point of implosion.” Abdelatty, whose country has played a central mediating role in the Gaza crisis alongside the United States and Qatar, accused the world of “standing idly by as a spectator” while international law is “systematically violated” in Gaza and other regional conflicts. He described Israel’s campaign as a “wanton, unjust war waged against defenseless civilians for a sin they did not commit,” and lamented that it was “transpiring without accountability.”
Abdelatty’s remarks, echoed by the Associated Press, went further: he accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza—a charge Israel vehemently denies—and of blocking Palestinian efforts to establish an independent state. He invoked the memory of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Israel in 1977, recalling Egypt’s early efforts to anchor peace in the region. But, surveying the current turmoil, Abdelatty insisted, “Israel can’t be secure unless other countries in the region are secure, and the region cannot see stability without an independent state of Palestine.”
The Egyptian foreign minister also pointed to a wider regional malaise. He cited the civil war in Sudan, the political vacuum in Libya, ongoing hostilities in Yemen, and repeated Israeli incursions into Lebanese and Syrian territory as evidence that instability is spreading. “The region cannot see stability without an independent state of Palestine,” Abdelatty reiterated from the U.N. podium, urging the international community to act before the situation deteriorates further.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, reinforced this message, emphasizing the suffering of Palestinians and the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “The suffering of Palestinians and the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza make it imperative for the international community to end the war in Gaza and achieve peace through a two-state solution,” he stated, as reported by both the Associated Press and Reuters. Bin Farhan warned that the continued failure of the international community to take firm action “will only cause further instability and insecurity regionally and globally” and “will have grave consequences and will escalate war crimes and acts of genocide.”
Saudi Arabia, together with Norway and the European Union, has launched an international coalition to promote the two-state solution. On September 29, 2025, the kingdom co-sponsored a high-level meeting with France, resulting in at least ten countries officially recognizing the state of Palestine, bringing the global total to nearly 160 recognitions. “Such recognition is an important step towards achieving the two-state solution and bolstering the path towards a just and lasting peace,” bin Farhan told the assembly. He also condemned Israel’s recent attack on Qatar and called for “international measures” to halt Israeli actions and “deter it from such criminal behavior that threatens regional security and stability.”
Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi, joined the chorus, urging the international community to “apply effective pressure to bring Israel to the negotiating table.” He called for sanctions against Israel for violations of international law and what he described as “unlawful encroachment” on the sovereignty of states in the region. Al-Busaidi condemned Israeli aggression not only in Gaza but also against Iran, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon. “We call for a global peaceful campaign to lift the blockade and undo the injustice imposed on the Palestinian people and to secure their freedom through the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state,” he said, as cited by the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Deputy Foreign Minister, sought to strike a balance. She condemned both Hamas’s hostage-taking and Israel’s targeting of civilians, asserting that there is “no justification for Hamas taking hostages or for Israel targeting tens of thousands of civilians or besieging them or starving them and forcibly displacing them.” Nusseibeh also criticized Israel’s “unacceptable, expansionist ambitions including the threat of annexing the West Bank,” calling them inexcusable. She urged all countries to recognize the state of Palestine “as an investment in a better future for the region.”
The UAE, she noted, has attempted to bridge divides elsewhere in the world, citing its role in the exchange of thousands of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, hosting peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and working to de-escalate tensions in South Asia and beyond. “Our aim is not simply to manage conflicts, but to resolve them sustainably,” Nusseibeh declared. She emphasized that “the urgent need for this approach is clear around the world, whether in the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Libya or the Sahel.” According to the Associated Press, the UAE is also the largest donor of aid to Gaza and is actively promoting an agenda of tolerance, peace, and security.
All four Arab leaders voiced frustration over what they see as the international community’s failure to uphold international law and protect civilians in conflict zones. Their statements came just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly, facing protesters and mounting global criticism over his government’s Gaza policies. Netanyahu insisted that Israel “must finish the job” against Hamas, referencing the October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 250 hostages. Israeli forces have recently launched a new offensive to take control of Gaza City, intensifying the conflict and further raising tensions in the region.
The coordinated Arab rebuke at the U.N. marks a pivotal moment, highlighting both the urgency of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the broader risks of regional implosion if diplomatic action is not taken. As the world watches, the path forward remains uncertain, but the calls for immediate intervention and a renewed push for a two-state solution have rarely sounded more urgent—or more united—among the region’s key players.
