UAE position on Palestine in line with Arab consensus, says diplomat

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Ali Abdullah Al-Ahmed. (Photo/Twitter)
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Updated 16 August 2020
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UAE position on Palestine in line with Arab consensus, says diplomat

  • Emirati envoy: Israel deal ‘puts two-state solution back on the table’

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron hailed in a tweet the “courageous decision” of the United Arab Emirates to sign a peace treaty with Israel, and expressed his wishes that it will contribute to a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Ali Abdullah Al-Ahmed, the Emirati ambassador to France, told Arab News-French edition that the decision of the Israeli government to annex Palestinian territory had already been taken and had preoccupied the international community since the signing of the Oslo agreement, and until a few years ago this problem was the keystone of the two-state solution.

Al-Ahmed said: “If the Israeli government executes its plans to annex the Palestinian territories then this means that the two-state solution should be forgotten and that we will be back to the situation that prevailed 30 years ago.”

However, he added that “we are convinced that this trilateral agreement between the UAE, Israel and the US as a principal actor, especially with the strengthening of the US presence in our region, will contribute in enhancing peace, security and stability in the region.”

Regarding Israeli declarations that annexation will only be suspended and not canceled, Al-Ahmed said: “There are no relations that begin in an ideal way, yet a step was made today when the Israeli government agreed to freeze annexation. It is definitely not a final solution, we will see what will comes next.”

However, the Emirati diplomat said: “The kick off of relations between the UAE and Israel opens the gates, and what will follow will not be confined to the political level but will equally cover the economic, technological and academic levels. It is highly possible that the tempo of the development of these relations will be faster. We will see.”

For Al-Ahmed, the return of the two-state solution to the negotiating table is undoubtedly an accomplishment. With regards to the rejection by the Palestinian authority of this agreement, the ambassador said: “It would have been more feasible for the Palestinian authority to thank the Emirati diplomacy, after all the decision of the UAE is a sovereign one that was already preceded by Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians themselves.

We are convinced that this trilateral agreement between the UAE, Israel and the US as a principal actor … will contribute in enhancing peace, security and stability in the region.

Ali Abdullah Al-Ahmed, Emirati ambassador to France

“We do not negotiate in the name of the Palestinians and it is not up to us to do so. However, our position regarding the Palestinian cause is in line with the Arab consensus regarding Jerusalem and other parameters of Arab unanimity, we adhere to them and we do not relinquish them,” the Emirati ambassador added.

On whether the Emirati embassy in Israel would be located in Jerusalem. Al-Ahmed said: “We are in the beginning of establishing diplomatic relations, however, we will see how all this will progress in the coming days. We are still in the phase of telephone contacts through which the kick off of diplomatic relations that will determine all the details depends. The UAE has put conditions on this agreement and the US has accepted to put the two-state solution back to the table of negotiations.”

On whether the agreement between the UAE and Israel means that the Arab peace plan or peace initiative of late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz is no longer valid, Al-Ahmed said: “Surely not, as the King Abdullah initiative is based on the two-state solution, which is the essence of the initiative.”

On whether the Emirati-Israeli agreement aims at enhancing US President Donald Trump’s re-election chances, Al-Ahmed said that US voters are unconcerned with foreign politics, and this is well known, and that had the US not been the guarantor of this agreement, it would have never been achieved.

If the agreement was aimed at confronting Iran and Turkey in the region, Al-Ahmed said that diplomatic relations between the two countries have many factors, including social, political, and cultural ones, and that the UAE is convinced that Israel can benefit a lot from Arab countries, for the UAE can benefit from relations with Israel.

“We have already cooperated on the medical scientific level regarding the coronavirus pandemic, especially between Emirati and Israeli companies in matters of pharmaceutical research.”

Regarding the Arab country that will come next, the Emirati ambassador believes that if Israel wants to live in peace in the Arab region, and if the Arab states want a prosperous economy, then there should be agreements with other Arab states which serves the interests of both parties.


At least 70 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, health authorities say

Updated 52 min 33 sec ago
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At least 70 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, health authorities say

  • Medics say Israeli strikes targeted several houses in northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip
  • Since Tuesday, airstrikes have killed 510 Palestinians, with more than half of them women and children

GAZA/CAIRO: At least 70 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, after Israel resumed its bombing campaign on the enclave, a Gaza health official said.

Medics said Israeli strikes targeted several houses in northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said its forces had resumed ground operations in central and southern Gaza, after a ceasefire that had broadly held since January collapsed.

The renewed ground operations came a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023.

Since Tuesday, airstrikes have killed 510 Palestinians, with more than half of them women and children, the health official said.

The Israeli military said its operations extended Israel’s control over the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza, and were a “focused” maneuver aimed at creating a partial buffer zone between the north and the south of the enclave.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said the ground operation and the incursion into the Netzarim Corridor were a “new and dangerous violation” of the two-month-old ceasefire agreement. In a statement, the group reaffirmed its commitment to the deal and called on mediators to “assume their responsibilities.”

Palestinian mourners pray over the bodies of victims of overnight Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip at Al-Ahli Arab hospital, also known as the Baptist hospital, in Gaza City ahead of their burial on March 18, 2025. (AFP)

Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, a Hamas official said mediators had stepped up their efforts with the two warring sides but added that “no breakthrough has yet been made.”

The group has made no clear threats to retaliate.

The war started after Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies.

Activists gather on Wall Street in front of a property owned by President Donald Trump following renewed attacks on Gaza by Israel on March 19, 2025 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)

More than 49,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza’s health authorities, with the enclave reduced to rubble.


Sudan TV says army close to taking control of Presidential Palace from paramilitary RSF group

Updated 9 sec ago
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Sudan TV says army close to taking control of Presidential Palace from paramilitary RSF group

  • Marks a significant shift in the two-year-old conflict that threatens to fracture the country
  • The war has led to what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis

DUBAI: Sudan’s state TV said on Thursday that the army is close to taking control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, marking a significant shift in the two-year-old conflict that threatens to fracture the country.
Late on Wednesday, heavy clashes erupted near the palace, with explosions heard and airstrikes by the army targeting central Khartoum, witnesses and military sources said.
After nearly two years of war, the RSF controls most of the west of Sudan and parts of the capital Khartoum, but has been losing ground in central Sudan to the army.
The two military factions staged a coup in 2021, derailing a transition to civilian rule, and warfare broke out in April 2023 after plans for a new transition triggered violent conflict.
The war has led to what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with both the RSF and the army accused of widespread human rights abuses.


Israel launches a ground operation to retake part of a key corridor in northern Gaza

Updated 20 March 2025
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Israel launches a ground operation to retake part of a key corridor in northern Gaza

  • Israel used the Netzarim corridor as a military zone which bisected northern Gaza from the south.

DEIR AL-BALAH: Israel said Wednesday it launched a “limited ground operation” in northern Gaza to retake part of a corridor that bisects the territory, and the country’s defense minister warned that the army plans to step up the attacks that shattered a two-month ceasefire “with an intensity that you have not seen.”
The military said it had retaken part of the Netzarim corridor, which bisects northern Gaza from the south and from where it had withdrawn as part of the ceasefire with Hamas that began in January.
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Palestinians in Gaza that the army would again order evacuations from combat zones soon, and that its attacks against Hamas would become more fierce if dozens of hostages held for more than 17 months weren’t freed.
The move appeared to deepen a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza, which shattered a ceasefire with Hamas.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 436 people, including 183 children and 94 women, have been killed since Israel launched the strikes early Tuesday. It said another 678 people have been wounded.
The military says it only strikes militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas. Gaza’s Health Ministry records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The military said in a statement that as part of the new offensive, it struck dozens of militants and militant sites on Wednesday, including the command center of a Hamas battalion.
The war in Gaza, which was paused in January by an internationally-mediated ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, has been among the deadliest conflicts ever for humanitarian workers, according to the UN.
The resumption of fighting launched by Israel early Tuesday risks plunging the region back into all-out war. It came weeks after the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, during which Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages for prisoners and were set to negotiate an extension to the truce that was meant to bring about an eventual end to the war.
But those negotiations never got off the ground. Hamas has demanded that Israel stick to the terms of the initial ceasefire deal, including a full withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war. Israel, which has vowed to defeat Hamas, has put forward a new proposal that would extend the truce and free more hostages held by Hamas, without a commitment to end the war.


Israel says it intercepted missile launched from Yemen

Updated 20 March 2025
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Israel says it intercepted missile launched from Yemen

  • Israel’s ambulance service said no serious injuries were reported

Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early on Thursday as hostilities with the Houthis intensified, amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to punish Iran over its perceived support for the Yemeni militant group.
Sirens sounded across several areas in Israel after the projectile was fired, the military said. The Israeli police said sirens were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
“A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to crossing into Israeli territory. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol,” the Israeli military said in a statement, referring to its air force.
Israel’s ambulance service said no serious injuries were reported.
Yemen’s Houthi militants, undeterred by waves of US strikes since Saturday, fired a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesperson said in a televised statement.
The group has recently vowed to escalate their attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to the US campaign.
US strikes which began on Saturday over the Houthis’ attacks against Red Sea shipping are the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US attacks have killed at least 31 people.
Trump also threatened on Monday to hold Iran accountable for any future Houthi attacks, warning of severe consequences. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Houthis were independent and took their own strategic and operational decisions.
On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile toward Israel and would expand their range of targets in that country in coming days in retaliation for renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza after weeks of relative calm.
The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.
The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the US military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.
The Houthis are part of what has been called the “Axis of Resistance” — an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.


UK demands transparent probe of Israel strike on Gaza UN building

Updated 20 March 2025
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UK demands transparent probe of Israel strike on Gaza UN building

  • “Appalled a UN compound in Gaza was hit this morning,” Lammy wrote on X

LONDON: Britain’s foreign minister David Lammy on Wednesday called for a transparent investigation into an Israeli air strike on a UN building in Gaza.
“Appalled a UN compound in Gaza was hit this morning,” Lammy wrote on X. “This incident must be investigated transparently and those responsible held to account.”