Arab League condemns Oct. 7, urges Hamas to disarm

First pan-Arab rebuke of Hamas comes in joint declaration backing two-state plan.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

The Arab League has issued its first-ever condemnation of the October 7 attacks, calling on Hamas to disarm and step aside from Palestinian leadership.

In a move hailed by France as “historic and unprecedented,” the 22-member bloc joined the EU, along with 17 other countries, in signing the so-called “New York Declaration.”

The seven-page document criticizes violence by all sides but makes specific mention of Hamas’ role in launching the assault that triggered the current Gaza war.

It also condemns Israeli strikes against civilians and infrastructure in Gaza.

Signatories include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon—nations that have often taken opposing stances on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“For the first time, Arab countries and those in the Middle East condemn Hamas, condemn October 7, call for the disarmament of Hamas, call for its exclusion from Palestinian governance,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

The declaration supports the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state, unified under the Palestinian Authority and incorporating both Gaza and Judea and Samaria. It rules out any post-war political role for Hamas and frames peace as only achievable through diplomacy, not violence.

“War, occupation, terror and forced displacement cannot deliver either peace or security. Only a political solution can,” the statement reads.

The document will be submitted for further discussion at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

It envisions a two-state solution in which a future Palestinian state lives “in peace and security alongside Israel.”

The move is notable for its inclusion of Arab League members like Syria and Lebanon, which do not have ties with Israel and have historically aligned with rejectionist positions. It also reflects a growing consensus among moderate Arab nations seeking stability and future normalization with Israel.

Still, Israeli officials responded with skepticism.

“There are those in the world who fight terrorists and extremist forces,” said Israeli UN envoy Danny Danon.

“And then there are those who turn a blind eye or resort to appeasement.”

While the declaration stops short of laying out mechanisms for Hamas’s disarmament, its political message is clear: the group’s role in Palestinian leadership is increasingly untenable, even in the Arab world.

Talks will continue in the lead-up to September’s UN assembly, where the push for a two-state framework will likely intensify.