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The League of Arab States has consistently extended robust political, legal, and financial support to the Palestinian cause across international platforms. This steadfast commitment has contributed to the growing international recognition of the State of Palestine, including its status as an observer at the United Nations. The League has also championed Palestine's legal pursuits before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, while supporting efforts to build and strengthen the institutions of the Palestinian state and safeguard the Arab identity of Jerusalem. Despite the complex array of internal and external challenges confronting Arab nations today, the Palestinian cause remains the foremost and unshaken priority of the Arab world.

Since its establishment in 1945, the League of Arab States has acknowledged the unique and central position of Palestine. Although membership was initially limited to sovereign, independent states, Palestine has been an integral part of the League's activities from the outset. The League's founding Charter included a dedicated annex on Palestine, stating: "In view of the special circumstances prevailing in Palestine, and until that country achieves actual independence, the Council of the League shall appoint an Arab representative from Palestine to participate in its proceedings." In 1976, the State of Palestine was officially granted full membership, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), thereby affirming its standing within the Arab diplomatic system.

The League of Arab States has politically championed the Palestinian cause across all domains, such as:

• The Cairo Declaration (1948), which affirmed the Palestinian people's right to independence and sovereignty over their land.

• The full membership of the State of Palestine in the League of Arab States, granted on 9 September 1976, recognising the Palestine Liberation Organisation as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
  

  
  

• Support for United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (1967), which called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories occupied during the 1967 war, and asserted the inadmissibility of acquiring land by force.
  

• • The establishment of the Jerusalem Intifada Fund and the Al-Aqsa Fund on 22 October 2000, to provide financial and institutional support for the Palestinian resistance and the preservation of Jerusalem's Arab and Islamic identity.
  

• The presentation of the Arab Peace Initiative (2002), which proposed the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in return for normalised relations between Israel and the Arab states, forming the basis for a just and comprehensive peace.

  • The League of Arab States' legal intervention before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of the apartheid wall (2004), where its coordinated diplomatic and legal efforts culminated in an ICJ advisory opinion declaring the wall illegal and calling for its dismantlement. The League successfully mobilised international support at the United Nations General Assembly, leading to the adoption of the opinion by a majority of 150 states, including all members of the European Union.
  

  
  

• Sustained humanitarian and development assistance, including support for Palestinians in the occupied territories, and for Palestinian refugees through the UnitedNations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East(UNRWA).
  

• Backing for education and reconstruction projects, aiming to empower Palestinians and preserve their national identity under occupation.
  

• Strong support for Palestine's bid for full membership in the United Nations (2011), followed by the successful endorsement of UN General Assembly Resolution 67/19 (2012), which granted Palestine non-member observer state status at the United Nations.
  

The League of Arab States' recent legal advocacy before the International Court of Justice in 2024, in the advisory proceedings concerning the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation and war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.

The League of Arab States continues to mobilise international and regional support for the Palestinian cause across all global platforms and multilateral frameworks. A key dimension of this effort is Arab-African cooperation, which holds particular significance amid persistent Israeli attempts to penetrate the African continent diplomatically and economically. In this context, the League of Arab States has undertaken concrete steps to reinforce joint positions. In 2017, during an extraordinary session, the Council of the League adopted a resolution establishing a tripartite coordination mechanism between the League of Arab States, the African Union Commission, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. This mechanism, which includes a representative of the State of Palestine, aims to harmonise diplomatic efforts and explore avenues for supporting Palestine in international forums.

Following the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the League of Arab States, in coordination with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, convened two extraordinary summits in November 2023 and November 2024 to deliberate on coordinated Arab-Islamic action in response to the ongoing violations. As part of the implementation of these resolutions, two specialised legal monitoring units were established. These units were tasked with drafting comprehensive legal memoranda detailing the occupying power's violations of international law and international humanitarian law in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. Furthermore, they were mandated to coordinate Arab diplomatic efforts abroad with the aim of halting the aggression, launching a credible political process for a just and comprehensive peace, lifting the blockade on Gaza, and ensuring the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance through Arab, Islamic, and international convoys.

Another prominent avenue of international support for the Palestinian cause is Arab-Chinese cooperation. The League of Arab States has consistently prioritised the Palestinian cause within its strategic dialogue with China. A notable example is the inaugural meeting of the Arab-Chinese Association of Think Tanks in 2024, which addressed three central themes, foremost among them the imperative of promoting a ceasefire in Gaza and achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting resolution to the Palestinian cause. The meeting reiterated firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and welcomed the Chinese initiative to convene an expanded international peace conference aimed at expediting a just settlement in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy.

In essence, the League of Arab States continues to place the Palestinian cause at the forefront of its political and diplomatic agenda, asserting the need for a just and comprehensive solution based on international law and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. This commitment is reflected not only in its political positions but also in its sustained material and technical support to the State of Palestine across vital sectors, including healthcare, infrastructure development, and the preservation of Palestinian cultural heritage.

In the Health Sector:

The Gaza Strip has endured an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe since 7 October 2023, as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression targeting civilians. This aggression has led to the martyrdom and injury of tens of thousands, including children, women, and the elderly. The occupying power has resorted to starvation as a method of warfare and deliberately obstructed the entry of humanitarian, medical, and fuel aid to more than two million Palestinians living in the Strip—an act constituting a war crime under international law. Furthermore, the systematic targeting of field workers, including humanitarian and medical personnel performing their duties, along with the deliberate destruction of hospitals, medical centers, and critical health infrastructure, has compounded the suffering of the population.

From the onset of this aggression, the League of Arab States has mobilised efforts to support the health sector in the Gaza Strip, notably through the following initiatives:

•  The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States delivered on 12 October 2023 urgent medical aid to the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation in Jordan, in response to the emergency needs of the Palestinian Ministry of Health. This assistance was coordinated through the Department of Health and Humanitarian Aid, in collaboration with the Ministries of Health in both the State of Palestine and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
  

• The General Secretariat issued on 22 October 2023 an urgent humanitarian appeal, calling upon Arab and international humanitarian organisations to provide comprehensive support to the Gaza Strip to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian population. A pan-Arab donation campaign was also launched during a press conference, spearheaded by the Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies in Arab states, to raise funds and deliver vital health and humanitarian aid. Coordination was ensured with the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies for the delivery of this assistance.

  • A blood donation campaign for the benefit of the Gaza Strip was organised on 25 October 2023 during the Youth and Civil Society Forum. The initiative witnessed the participation of the Ministers of Youth and Sports of Egypt and Jordan, ambassadors of member states, and a large number of youth forum participants.
  

• The Council of Arab Ministers of Health adopted a resolution on 31 October 2023 to provide urgent support to the Palestinian people. A humanitarian convoy was dispatched in the name of the League of Arab States, jointly supported by the Council of Arab Ministers of Health and the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs.

  • On 24 November 2023, a delegation from the General Secretariat delivered the first installment of aid, which included essential humanitarian, health, and relief materials. The delegation also visited Palestinian patients receiving treatment in Egyptian hospitals, inspected the Egyptian Red Crescent's storage facilities in Arish, and held a press conference at the Rafah crossing to express solidarity with the steadfast people of Gaza in the face of a war of annihilation.

  • As part of the Council of Arab Ministers of Health's continued in-kind support to Palestine's health sector, the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation received approximately 10 tons of medical aid for delivery to the Palestinian Ministry of Health on 28 December 2024.

  • Throughout this crisis, the League of Arab States has consistently monitored the evolving needs of the Palestinian Ministry of Health and has coordinated with member states to respond accordingly. On 23 January 2025, the Ministry of Health in Palestine submitted urgent appeals detailing shortages of cancer medications and other essential drugs that had reached zero stock. These appeals were disseminated among member states, who responded to help bridge the critical gaps in the Palestinian healthcare system.
  

  
  

The League of Arab States allocated $80,000 to the Arab Water Experts Network, an executive arm of the Arab Ministerial Water Council, to conduct a comprehensive study assessing the damage to Gaza's water and sanitation infrastructure following the brutal Israeli aggression in May 2021. The study, which was completed by the network, comprised three key components, revealing the extensive damage, estimated at $14.02 million. Furthermore, the study outlined the priorities and necessary interventions to restore this vital sector. In July 2022, the Technical Secretariat of the Arab Ministerial Water Council convened a donor conference to present the findings of the study to Arab countries, financial institutions, and international organizations.

In the Preservation of Palestinian Heritage and Identity:

The League of Arab States has been steadfast in supporting the State of Palestine's efforts within UNESCO to inscribe Palestinian cultural heritage on the World Heritage List, ensuring the protection of Palestinian heritage and identity from the attempts of distortion and destruction by the Israeli occupation. This support included the adoption of resolutions condemning attacks on archaeological and heritage sites in Palestine.

As a result of these efforts, several historical and archaeological sites have been successfully inscribed as Palestinian tangible heritage, including:

• The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, added to the World Heritage List in June 2012;

• Battir Village, inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2014;

• Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi in Hebron, inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in July 2017;

• Jericho and Tell Umm Amer, inscribed in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Additionally, Palestinian intangible cultural heritage has been recognised, including:

• The Palestinian Story, inscribed in 2008;

• Palestinian Embroidery, inscribed in 2021;

• Palestinian Dabkeh, inscribed in 2023.

The diplomatic efforts of the State of Palestine's mission to UNESCO continue, with ongoing work to register and safeguard Palestinian cultural heritage, including the files on Nabulsi soap and Palestinian cookies.

In the Field of Media:

Since its founding in 1945, the League of Arab States has recognised the necessity of an "Arab voice" to articulate the collective Arab position on regional and international matters of concern to the Arab world. At the forefront of this mission has been the Palestinian cause. Advocacy for Palestine remains a central priority within Arab media, consistently reflected in the decisions of Arab information ministers through media campaigns and awareness programmes aligned with a unified Arab media policy.

In 2016, the Council of Arab Information Ministers launched an initiative to designate an Arab city as the annual Capital of Arab Media. This initiative seeks to foster cooperation among Arab media outlets, highlight the role of media in promoting developmental and social agendas, and celebrate the cultural and civilisational attributes of the selected cities. Jerusalem was chosen as the inaugural capital. Recognising its unique significance in the collective Arab consciousness, it was later decreed as the "Permanent Capital of Arab Media," underscoring the city's spiritual, legal, and historical status. 

In 2022, the Council of Arab Information Ministers declared 11 May each year as the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Media, in commemoration of the martyrdom of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. This day serves to honour Palestinian media professionals who tirelessly work to present the reality of life under occupation to the global community.

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