Arab and Muslim states including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have for the first time issued a joint call for Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip as part of efforts to end the war in the territory.

The 22-member Arab League, the entire European Union and another 17 countries backed a declaration signed at a United Nations conference co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on Tuesday.

France, who co-chaired the conference, called the declaration “unprecedented.”

Speaking at the UN Tuesday, Jean-Noël Barrot, the French foreign minister, said that “Saudi Arabia and the Arab and Muslim countries for the first time will condemn terrorism, the acts of terror on the 7th of October, a call for the disarmament of Hamas and expressed their hope to have a normalized relationship with Israel in due time.”

Source: CNN

Arab states call on Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in unprecedented move | CNN