DOHA: A closed-door meeting of foreign ministers representing the nations attending the Arab-Islamic summit was in progress in Doha on Sunday in attempt to draft a statement which their leaders would discuss tomorrow (Monday), as Qatar called for punishing Israel.
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that a visit to Israel by top US diplomat Marco Rubio underscored the strength of ties between the allies.
Read more: Netanyahu says US an ‘extraordinary friend’ as Rubio visits Israel
‘PUNISH ISRAEL’
In his address to the foreign ministers’ meeting, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, according to Al Jazeera, said the Doha attack must be met with fierce and firm measures.
“The time has come for the international community to stop using double standards and to punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed,” he noted.
In this connection, he said “Israel needs to know that the ongoing war of extermination that our brotherly Palestinian people is being subjected to, and whose aim is to expel them from their land, will not work.”
Talking about the Gaza ceasefire, the Qatari premier said Israel “continues to turn down proposal after proposal, intentionally widening the circle of war facing the region’s peoples, including their own, and does so at a grave risk”.
Meanwhile, OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha called for united efforts to prevent future attacks in the region and push forward for Palestinian statehood.
Stressing the need for implementing the two-state solution, Taha said all member states taking part in the summit “are convinced that the Arab-Islamic cooperation must be cemented”.
‘PREPARATORY MEETING’
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reached Qatar to attend the extraordinary Arab League-OIC summit being held after Israel launched an unprovoked and unjustified attack on Doha to assassinate the Hamas leadership.
On Monday, many leaders from the Arab League and the OIC [Organisation of Islamic Countries] are expected to attend the gathering.
The Arab League has 22 members with 57 in the case of OIC.
Also on Sunday, the Qatar News Agency (QNA) said, “The [preparatory ministerial] meeting will address a draft statement regarding the Israeli attack against the State of Qatar on Sept 9, which targeted residential buildings in Doha housingآ several leaders of theآ Hamas movement”.
Previously, Dr Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, had said the Arab-Islamic summit would discuss the draft statement submitted by the preparatory meeting.
On Saturday, the Qatari prime minister met with the US Central Command Commander Admiral Charles Bradford Cooper in Doha.
According to QNA, “they discussed the close strategic relations between the State of Qatar and the United States of America and ways to support and strengthen them, particularly in the areas of military and defense cooperation, in addition to a number of topics of common interest.”
However, the question remains: what would be the outcome of the Arab-Islamic summit? Will the wealthy Gulf States use their financial muscle to stop Israel to stop bombing others and make the United States reverse the policy of extending “unwavering support to Israel?
US REMAINS COMMITTED TO ISRAEL
Read more: Rubio in Israel to shower support as Palestinians flee Gaza City
On the the other, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Israel as he said the Doha attack was “not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis”.
Unfortunately, the visit also coincides with the Israel’s relentless bombing on Gaza City, forcing thousands of Palestinians to flee for safety again, and the latest proclamation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which ruled out the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state under the two-state solution.
On Friday, The UN General Assembly adopted the “New York Declaration” which aims to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine — without the involvement of Hamas — by establishing a Palestinian state.
Read more: UNGA supports future Palestinian state but without Hamas
However, the United States yet again joined Israel to vote against the resolution.
BLATANT VIOLATIONS
Dar, who is also the foreign minister, arrived in Doha a day earlier than Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to represent Pakistan at the ministerial meeting before the planned Arab-Islamic summit on Monday.
On the sidelines of the event, he held meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Dr Badr Abdelatty, as they condemned illegal Israeli strikes on Qatar and other Muslim nations.
Terming the unending Israeli aggression against the Middle East countries blatant violations of sovereignty and international law, Pakistan and Egypt reaffirmed their unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and stressed the urgent need for unity across the Muslim Ummah.
It’s a developing story. Details to follow.