Algeria's foreign minister expresses "full solidarity" with Palestinians

Algeria's foreign minister Ahmed Attaf on Tuesday called on the international community to support the Palestinians, with whom he said Algeria stood in full solidarity as the Israel-Hamas war intensifies.

Speaking at the 20th session of the ministerial meeting of African and Nordic countries in Algiers, Attaf said "Our brothers in the Gaza Strip are living in deplorable humanitarian conditions."

He said Algeria "calls on the international community to take urgent action to come to the aid of the oppressed and persecuted, to put an end to this aggression and to relaunch the peace process."

The meeting of African and Nordic ministers is taking place from October 16 to 18, under the theme of "strengthening dialogue based on common values".

Key topics being discussed are irregular migration, climate change, cross-border terrorism and developing trade and economic cooperation between the two blocs. 

The conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has triggered a wave of pro-Palestinian solidarity across North African countries, with demonstrations in Algeria, Libya and Morocco.

On Monday, Algeria's Supreme Security Council issued a statement stressing "its rejection of the occupation operations against defenceless civilians" and emphasised its solidarity with the Palestinian people.

They added their conviction that"the radical solution does not lie in genocide or forced displacement, but rather in establishing the Palestinian state."