Crown Prince, UAE President Exchange Eid Al-Adha Greetings
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, received a telephone call from President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, during which he congratulated him on Eid Al-Adha, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
The Crown Prince acknowledged the felicitation on this occasion, appealing to Allah Almighty for its return with goodness and blessings.
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Arab News
32 minutes ago
- Arab News
This Israeli government thrives on provoking the global community
Some prefer to hear the good news first, others the bad, but does it really matter? The good news about the Israeli government is that it no longer tries to hide its true intentions regarding the Palestinians. The bad news is that the ruling coalition is ill-intentioned to the core. There is no longer any pretense of a desire for peaceful coexistence through a historic compromise agreement that would divide the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea so that it could accommodate a Jewish state and a Palestinian state. In an act of sheer defiance of the international community and international law, and demonstrating a complete absence of common sense, Israel's Security Cabinet has approved a motion, put forward by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for the establishment of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. Not all of these settlements are entirely new; some are while others are existing outposts that were built illegally, even according to Israeli law. Two of the planned settlements, Homesh and Sa-Nor, were evacuated in 2005 during the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, as part of a wider plan to also disengage from some parts of the West Bank and create space for what should have become a Palestinian state. But that was then. Now, Katz has been explicit in his assertion that the latest move 'prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.' No hiding now of this government's true objective: to bury once and for all the prospect of a two-state solution, and with it the right of Palestinians to self-determination. A quick glance at a map of the West Bank and East Jerusalem reveals the extent of settlement expansion since 1967. From not a single Jewish community there to — according to Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now — 141 settlements which were officially established by the government, and a staggering 224 outposts, including farms, that have been established since the 1990s without government approval and so are illegal under Israeli law. The number of settlers in these communities, together with Jewish neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, exceeds 700,000. All of the proposed new settlements are deep within the West Bank, to prevent the establishment of a future, contiguous Palestinian state. Much has been said about the illegality of all the settlements in the eyes of international law because they are built on occupied land, and an occupying power is forbidden from transferring its own population to such areas or, in the context of what is being said by some Israeli Cabinet ministers, removing indigenous people from them. However, you can rely on Smotrich to tell it like it is when he states: 'Settlement in the land our ancestors inherited is a protective wall for the State of Israel, and today we have taken a huge step for its strengthening. The next step — sovereignty!' Or, in other words, annexation. What makes this decision even more extraordinary than previous decisions to build settlements — and in less than three years the government has decided to build 49 of them, since taking power in December 2022 — is that ministers appear to be completely oblivious to the fact that this act of sheer folly brings Israel ever closer to international sanctions and its becoming a pariah state. The current Israeli government, led by Netanyahu, has no respect for human rights. Yossi Mekelberg At a time of mounting international criticism, including from close allies, of the way Israeli authorities are conducting the war in Gaza — which has so far resulted in the killing of 54,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians and including at least 16,500 children — and for preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the territory, despite repeated warnings that the population there is on the verge of starvation, the best that Israel can do to try to improve its image in the world is to announce the building of new illegal settlements. Most observers of the conflict between Israel and Palestine agree that the single most damaging issue that is hindering a peace agreement based on a two-state solution is the Israeli settlement project in its entirety. The situation is made worse when settlements are built in the heart of large Palestinian population centers or close by. For the government to legalize the outposts, which are home to some of the most extreme Jewish supremacist settlers, is to encourage one of the most lawless segments of Israeli society, one that rather than abide by the law of the country prefers to adhere to the rulings of their rabbis, or to their distorted religio-nationalist version of Judaism while becoming increasingly violent, verbally and physically, toward Palestinian neighbors. Legalizing the outposts will only encourage Israel to continue in this vein and so it is an act of sheer provocation, against the Palestinians and the international community, that can only result in further condemnation while legitimizing the calls to impose sanctions on Israel. This development is also a further illustration of the unchecked power accumulated by the messianic ultra-right within Israel's governing coalition, in the face of a weak prime minister who looks like he will be sticking with them all the way to what will probably be his very bitter political end. Consequently it would be next to impossible, even for the most ardent supporters of the Jewish state, to fend off demands for sanctions while Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu continues to treat the international community, and its values and institutions, with utter contempt and complete disdain, as if begging to be punished. Much of the support Israel has enjoyed in the international arena through the years has stemmed from a perception that it was a thriving liberal democracy, even if at times this aspect has been somewhat exaggerated considering the oppressive occupation of land that is home to millions of Palestinians, and a state that desired peace and was prepared to make painful concessions in order to achieve it. This state of affairs was already long gone and is now officially history. The current government has no respect for human rights, and insufficient common sense to see that its defiance of the international norms of behavior at a time when it is still at war, and desperately needs international support, is self-harming. Given that on the issues of building settlements, annexing occupied Palestinian land, and depriving Palestinians of their right to self-determination, this Netanyahu government likes to say what it means and means what it says, with no nuance, it will have very little reason to complain when the response of the international community is equally honest and robust. This response is likely just around the corner. • Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Saudi crown prince urges international community to end Israeli aggression in Gaza
MINA: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday urged the international community to play a bigger role in ending the repercussions of Israeli aggression in Gaza, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Prince Mohammed made the comments during a speech to dignitaries and officials marking Eid Al-Adha in Mina. 'The suffering of our brothers in Palestine continues as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression, he said. 'We reaffirm the importance of the international community's role in ending the disastrous consequences of this aggression, protecting innocent civilians, and working toward a new reality in which Palestine can enjoy peace in accordance with international legitimacy and relevant resolutions,' he added.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Crown Prince Discusses Relations with Presidents of Maldives, Mauritania
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, held separate talks in Mina on Saturday with President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani and President of the Maldives Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. The meetings focused on bilateral relations and prospects for deeper cooperation between their countries. The leaders also exchanged greetings on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.
