Qatar’s foreign minister said on Monday Arab states that establish ties with Israel undermine efforts for Palestinian statehood, but it was in their own sovereign right to do so. Three Arab countries – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan – set aside hostilities with Israel in recent months to agree to formal relations in deals brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
Palestinian leaders have accused them of betrayal, while U.S. and Israeli officials have said more Arab states could soon follow.
“I think it’s better to have a united (Arab) front to put the interests of the Palestinians (first) to end the (Israeli) occupation,” Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told the online Global Security Forum.
He said division was not in the interest of concerted Arab efforts to get the Israelis to negotiate with the Palestinians and resolve the decades-long conflict between the sides.
However, for the states who established ties, “it is up to them at the end of the day to decide what is best for their countries”, he said.
The UAE, Bahrain and Sudan broke with decades of Arab policy that had demanded Israel first cede land to the Palestinians to form their own state before establishing relations.
UAE officials have said the Gulf state remains committed to Palestinian statehood, and that its deal with Israel had stopped further annexation of lands Palestinians seek for a state.
Until this year, Israel had only current formal relations with just two Arab states – its neighbours Egypt and Jordan – established under peace deals reached decades ago.
Qatar has been tipped by Israeli officials as among Arab and other Muslim-majority countries that could establish formal ties with Israel.
Sheikh Mohammed said Doha maintains some relations with Israel, though only on matters concerning the Palestinians such as humanitarian needs or development projects.
Qatar, which also has relations with two of Israel’s bitter enemies, Iran and Palestinian militant group Hamas, supports a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, a stance the foreign minister reiterated.
(Reuters)
Historically, particularly over the so-called “Great Moderation” period (1990-2019) dominated by positive growth and low…
Solidarity with Gaza is apparent at universities around the globe, with student movements in France,…
The Ministry of the Interior declared, in an official press release, that security units in…
The prosecution at the Ariana Court of First Instance authorized agents of the Ariana North…
Labour's Sadiq Khan has won a third successive term as mayor of London. Khan defeated…
The civil society components of Al-Amra, in partnership with some organizations from the delegations of…
This website uses cookies.