Israeli occupation undermines structure of Arab family: Qatar envoy to Egypt

Qatar Tribune

09-05-2025

QNA
Cairo
The Israeli occupation undermines the structure of the Arab family, and Arab families living under occupation represent a stark example of the disintegration of social structures due to systematic oppression, Ambassador of Qatar to Egypt and Permanent Representative of the State to the Arab League HE Tariq Ali Faraj Al Ansari has said.
Ansari said that it is impossible to talk about the challenges facing the Arab family without considering the devastating impact of the Israeli occupation on the family structure and stability, as families under occupation, especially Palestinian families and those in the occupied Syrian Golan and Lebanon, represent a stark example of the disintegration of social structures due to systematic oppression.
He added that the occupation not only stripped the land of its people, but also directly targeted families through policies of arrest, home demolitions, forced separation of family members, and the imposition of a siege, which has led to the disintegration of family ties and the distortion of roles within the family.
Ansari made the remarks during the launch of the First Arab Regional Policy Forum on the Doha Declaration: Family and Major Contemporary Transformations, organised by the Doha International Family Institute (DIFI), a member of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development, which kicked off in Cairo.
The two-day forum is being held in cooperation with Qatar's delegation to the Arab League and in partnership with the League's Secretary General.
Ansari added that the structural targeting of the family, as the nucleus of Arab society, goes beyond human dimensions to touch upon the essence of identity and belonging, threatening to inherit suffering and instability across generations.
Therefore, any strategic vision for empowering the Arab family is incomplete without including the occupation as a structural factor undermining the family, he underlined.
He said that while conflicts and disputes plague some families, others suffer from increasing economic pressures, the challenges of migration, and the digital divide. This is inseparable from the cultural and social changes that threaten traditional family identities and significantly impact the role of the family and its ability to provide psychological and social stability for its members.
The ambassador stressed that caring for the stability of the family and its members and strengthening family cohesion is one of the essential goals upon which Qatar National Vision 2030 is based, which stems from a firm belief that a cohesive family is the foundation for building a prosperous and stable society.
Based on this premise, Qatar has given family issues a central focus in its development vision, recognizing that family cohesion is the cornerstone of social stability and the foundation for human development, he added.