Eurasia Press & News
Israel is intentionally burying prospects for peace to destroy the idea of a Palestinian state, Jordan’s King Abdullah told world leaders. [Getty]
Arab leaders on Tuesday condemned Israel for sabotaging negotiations to end the war in Gaza and warned the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will continue to pursue expansionist ambitions in the region if it is not held to account.
In strong remarks delivered to the UN on the opening day of the general assembly, the leaders of Jordan and Qatar accused Israel of pursuing constant war to stop a Palestinian state being established and urged the international community to curb Israel’s lawless behaviour.
“The international community must stop entertaining the illusion that this [Israeli] government is a willing partner for peace. Far from it,” Jordan’s King Abdullah said from the podium at the UN headquarters in New York.
“Its actions on the ground are dismantling the very foundations on which peace could stand and intentionally burying the very idea of a Palestinian state,” he warned.
In his address, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians and described its attempt at assassinating Hamas negotiators in Doha as an act of “state terrorism”.
At least six people were killed earlier this month when Israeli fighter jets launched airstrikes in a residential suburb of the Qatari capital.
“Israel is unilaterally preventing any ability to reach a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages,” the emir told world leaders.
Qatar has worked for almost two years alongside Egypt and the United States to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
The remarks stand in sharp contrast to US president Donald Trump who refused to criticise Israel’s behaviour during his speech on Tuesday.
“I’m on the side of Israel. I’ve been on the side of Israel my whole life,” he said on the sidelines of the general assembly.
The addresses came a few hours before Arab and Muslim leaders sat down with Trump to discuss ending the war.
Both leaders warned that Netanyahu and his cabinet, which includes far-right extremists, are pursuing a vision of ‘Greater Israel’ involving the seizure of territory from its neighbours.
“Israel is not a democratic country surrounded by enemies but in fact is an enemy to its surrounding countries and is engaged in a genocide,” Sheikh Tamim said. “It desires to impose its will on surrounding Arab countries.”
Qatar will continue to try and negotiate an end to the war despite Israel’s attack on its territory, he said.
Abdullah warned that the Israeli far-right’s ambitions to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem would “incite a religious war that would reach far beyond the region”.
Indonesia offers peacekeeping troops for Gaza
Indonesia’s president Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday offered to contribute at least 20,000 troops to a potential peacekeeping force in Gaza currently being discussed by Arab and Western leaders.
Subianto was speaking on the first day of the UN General Assembly in New York, which was dominated by Gaza.
“If and when the UN Security Council and this great assembly decide, Indonesia is prepared to deploy 20,000 or even more of our sons and daughters to help secure peace in Gaza,” he told the General Assembly on Tuesday.
Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world and does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Subianto offered to immediately normalise ties if Israel recognises the State of Palestine.
France and the US are working on separate proposals for a multinational security force to replace Israeli troops in Gaza after the war.
