Arab, EU leaders stress sovereign Palestinian state holds key to real peace in region
Leaders of the European Union and Gulf countries have called for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East.
In a statement on Oct 16 after the first summit between the EU and Gulf Cooperation Council —Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — they called for a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, the release of hostages, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians.
“We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the realization of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination through the two-state solution where Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, along the 1967 lines,” said the statement. It added that they were “extremely concerned” by the dangerous escalation in Lebanon.
Earlier, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and visiting Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud issued a joint call for de-escalation and lasting cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, during a bilateral meeting in Cairo on Oct 15.
They stressed that establishing a sovereign Palestinian state, under international legitimacy resolutions, is the only path to achieving lasting calm, peace, and security in the region, Egyptian news website Ahram Online reported.
They also noted that any attempts to “liquidate the Palestinian cause” would only perpetuate the ongoing conflict in the region and stressed that Lebanon’s sovereignty, security and stability be respected.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that his government has decided to submit a cease-fire request to the United Nations Security Council.
He reportedly received US guarantees to de-escalate Israeli attacks on Beirut and its southern suburbs, as per Lebanon’s National News Agency. Yet the past days saw Israel intensifying bombings and ground attacks in southern Lebanon and around Beirut.
The Pentagon has confirmed that the United States is deploying an anti-missile system in Israel along with 100 troops. US President Joe Biden has said it is meant “to defend Israel”.
But this new deployment of troops together with the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery is significant as it signals further US entanglement in the expanding regional war.
The US troops deployment in Israel has raised questions on its legality as the move underscored once again Washington’s contradictory and inconsistent actions in the region, including going against the wishes of its regional allies, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Abdalfatah Asqool, an international law lecturer at the University of Palestine, said: “When Israel is still committing genocide against civilians in Gaza and starts (attacking) other countries, and then the US comes with these kinds of measures to protect Israel, that simply means that the US is involved in the genocide and the attacks. And it also gives Israel a green light to proceed with its violations.”
Mikati, the Lebanese caretaker prime minister, had emphasized efforts to remove any pretext for Israel to target Beirut’s airport, seaports, and land crossings.
According to an Oct 15 statement from his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron that he opposed a unilateral cease-fire, which “would not change the security situation in Lebanon”.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi told UN chief Antonio Guterres during a phone conversation that any adventurism by the Israeli regime “will face Iran’s serious response”.
“The responsibility for the consequences of the spread of insecurity in the region lies with the regime and its main supporter, the United States,” said Araghchi.
Xinhua contributed to this story.
