Qatar’s emir has called for ceasefires in Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon and stressed the importance of establishing a Palestinian state at a meeting with European Union leaders in Brussels, Belgium.
The 27-nation EU is seeking to work more closely with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – which brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – in addressing conflicts in both the Middle East and Ukraine.
In opening remarks at the first EU-GCC summit on Wednesday, Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani outlined the need for creating a “sovereign and independent” Palestinian state existing side by side with Israel. He also called for a ceasefire in Israel’s ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
“The destructive war waged by Israel today on Palestine and Lebanon made war crimes as something normal. That is something that we cannot accept,” Al Thani said.
“We need a settlement for these conflicts. We need to find a solution to the Palestinian cause on the basis of international legitimacy and of the 1967 borders … A ceasefire would be a first step before a serious round of negotiations for a definite solution to the Palestinian cause.”
The summit comes more than a year after Israeli launched its assault on Gaza after the Palestinian group Hamas led an attack on southern Israel, killing at least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli statistics, and seized around 250 others as hostages.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 42,400 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian authorities, and displaced more than 90 percent of the territory’s 2.3 million residents, many more than once.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has been exchanging cross-border fire with Israel for more than a year, saying it is acting in response to Israel’s devastating ground and air assault on Gaza.
Israel’s military last month drastically escalated the fighting with Hezbollah, targeting several senior leaders in the organisation, expanding Israel’s bombardment across Lebanon and sending ground troops into the country’s south.
At least 1,350 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel escalated its attacks last month, according to Lebanese authorities.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned against an escalation of the war in the Middle East and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine and the Hamas-led terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 have fundamentally undermined regional security in Europe and the Gulf,” she said.
“We need to do all in our power and mobilise all our diplomatic skills to stop the extremely dangerous escalation with now Iran launching a massive ballistic attack against Israel, or Houthis attacking our ships,” she added.
Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from the summit, said the opening remarks from the leaders gave a sense of how the spiralling violence in the Middle East was becoming an “urgent” issue for the international community.
“If this continues, it could further deteriorate into a wider confrontation that could draw the Iranians into a vicious cycle of tit for tat with the Israelis. That could be the moment where the international community would have zero leverage to contain the situation,” he said.
The presence of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – confirmed at the last minute – heightened expectations about the push from the GCC side for a two-state solution.
“The year 2002 was the date when the Saudis launched the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for all the Arab nations to recognise Israel in exchange for Israelis accepting an independent Palestinian state, [the] same statement reiterated by the emir of Qatar,” said Ahelbarra.
Russia-Ukraine war another priority
Russia’s war on Ukraine was also expected to dominate the meetings, with the EU attempting to garner international support to isolate Russia.
While views differ on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – in particular, the implementation of Western sanctions and the EU’s push to punish Iran for bolstering Moscow’s war effort – there was some hope of closer cooperation on that front.
“I’m confident that we can work together and rely on you to stop this illegal Russian war,” von der Leyen told Gulf leaders.
Though Brussels wants the GCC partners to agree to stronger language on Russia’s military assault, it is not expecting them to fully adopt its position in blaming Moscow.
Al Thani’s opening speech made a brief reference to the conflict on European soil.
“As far as the Ukraine-Russia war is concerned, the GCC position is based on international law principles and the Charter of the United Nations, which preserves the sovereignty of states, their territorial integrity and the noninterference in internal affairs of states,” the emir said.
Talks at the summit are also expected to touch on trade and investment cooperations and visa liberalisation.
