UNITED NATIONS(National Times)- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Oman \u2014 all nations in the thick of the unrest that has pervaded the Middle East \u2014 confronted the crisis in the region at the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders, with Egypt\u2019s top diplomat warning that the Mideast \u201cis at a point of implosion.\u201d All four countries on Saturday decried Israel\u2019s ongoing pursuit of war in Gaza and the horrific impact on Palestinian civilians \u2013 and they bemoaned the failure of the United Nations and the broader international community to achieve a ceasefire and end the bloodshed. The four ministers spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu \u2014 facing protesters, critics and growing global isolation over his Gaza policies \u2014 told the General Assembly his country \u201cmust finish the job\u201d against Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. Hamas also took 250 hostages. Israeli forces recently launched an offensive to take control of Gaza City. Here\u2019s a country-by-country look at those four leaders\u2019 takes from the U.N. podium on the overall Mideast situation and Gaza in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Egypt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, whose country has been a key mediator in Gaza along with the United States and Qatar, sharply criticized the international community \u201cstanding idly by as a spectator\u201d while international law is systematically violated in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East. Israel\u2019s \u201cwanton, unjust war waged against defenseless civilians for a sin they did not commit\u201d is \u201ctranspiring without accountability, and it has affected one country after another,\u201d he said. Abdelatty recalled former president Anwar Sadat\u2019s historic visit to Israel in 1977, and Egypt becoming \u201cone of the first to anchor the pillar of peace in the region.\u201d But surveying the turmoiul in the Mideast today, he accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza \u2013 which it vehemently denies \u2013 and blocking the Palestinians\u2019 fron establishing an independent state. Abdelatty said Israel can\u2019t be secure unless other countries in the region are secure, and \u201cthe region cannot see stability without an independent state of Palestine.\u201d In the region, he pointed to civil war in Sudan, the need for elections in divided Libya, resolving Yemen\u2019s crisis between the internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels who control the capital and most of the north, and ending repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese and Syrian territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saudi Arabia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, whose country hosts Russia-Ukraine-U.S. peace talks, said the suffering of Palestinians and unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza make it imperative for the international community to end the war in Gaza and achieve peace through a two-state solution. A two-state solution to the nearly 80-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict is \u201cthe only path that would guarantee the security of all countries in the region,\u201d he said. \u201cThe failure of the international community to take firm actions to end the Israeli aggression and violation will only cause further instability and insecurity regionally and globally\u201d and \u201cwill have grave consequences and will escalate war crimes and acts of genocide.\u201d Farhan said Saudi Arabia, along with Norway and the European Union, launched an international coalition to implement the two-state solution, and it co-sponsored Monday\u2019s high-level meeting with France that saw at least 10 countries officially recognize the state of Palestine, bringing the total to near 160 recognitions. \u201cSuch recognition is an important step towards achieving the two-state solution and bolstering the path towards a just and lasting peace,\u201d he said. Farhan condemned Israel\u2019s recent attack on Qatar. He also called for \u201cinternational measures\u201d to stop Israel\u2019s actions, \u201cand to deter it from such criminal behavior that threatens regional security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi, whose country has mediated U.S.-Iran talks, called on the international community \u201cto apply effective pressure to bring Israel to the negotiating table\u201d \u2014 and to adopt measures limiting its ability to continue its killings, destruction, occupation and policies \u201cof starvation and blockade against the Palestinian people.\u201d He condemned Israeli aggression against Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon and called for sanctions against Israel in response to its violation of international law and \u201cunlawful encroachment\u201d on the sovereignty of states. \u201cWe call for a global peaceful campaign to lift the blockade and undo the injustice imposed on the Palestinian people and to secure their freedom through the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state,\u201d al-Busaidi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n United Arab Emirates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Calling it \u201ca pivotal moment\u201d in a world engulfed in turmoil and conflict, the United Arab Emirates\u2019 deputy foreign minister Lana Nusseibeh said there is no justification for Hamas taking hostages or for Israel targeting \u201ctens of thousands of civilians or besieging them or starving them and forcibly displacing them.\u201d Israel\u2019s \u201cunacceptable, expansionist ambitions including the threat of annexing the West Bank\u201d are also inexcusable, she said. UNITED NATIONS(National Times)- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Oman \u2014 all nations in the thick of the unrest that has pervaded the Middle East \u2014 confronted the crisis in the region at the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders, with Egypt\u2019s top diplomat warning that the Mideast \u201cis at a point of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
Nusseibeh urged all countries to recognize the state of Palestine \u201cas an investment in a better future for the region.\u201d The UAE has tried to bridge divides elsewhere in the conflict-torn world, she said, pointing to its role in the exchange of thousands of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, hosting peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and helping to de-escalate tensions in south Asia and beyond. \u201cOur aim is not simply to manage conflicts, but to resolve them sustainably,\u201d Nusseibeh told the assembly. \u201cThe urgent need for this approach is clear around the world, whether in the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Libya or the Sahel.\u201d Many crises have been exacerbated by extremist ideologies, hate speech and incitement, which is why the UAE is promoting an agenda of tolerance, peace and security, she said. The UAE is also the largest donor of aid to Gaza, she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"