Frankly Speaking: Does the UK still matter to the Middle East?

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Updated 03 July 2023
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Frankly Speaking: Does the UK still matter to the Middle East?

  • Despite Brexit and mistakes, former Minister for Middle East Alistair Burt says UK still has diplomatic clout, military exports and permanent seat at UN Security Council
  • Middle East is changing and West needs to understand and watch, not necessarily get involved in region’s affairs, he tells Arab News current-affairs talk show

DUBAI: Former UK MP and two-time minister of state, the Right Honorable Alistair Burt, has admitted that “policy errors have been made” by the UK government that have affected its relationship with the Arab world, but that the region “remains of great interest and importance” to the country.

Appearing on the Arab News current-affairs talk show “Frankly Speaking,” Burt, who has served as UK minister for the Middle East, said that “the essential thing is that the long historical ties and the relationship between us means there will always be an interest and an involvement.”

Burt, who has visited the region twice this year and still retains close ties with officials and leaders there, explained how his revelation comes as part of a broader recognition of the evolving dynamics in the Middle East and the need to reassess the UK’s role and engagement there.

He stressed the importance of acknowledging past mistakes as an important step toward building better diplomatic relationships in the future, saying that if the government “has made mistakes in the past, we’re very anxious to make sure they’re put right in the future.”

Burt has twice held ministerial positions in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office: as parliamentary under-secretary of state from 2010 to 2013 and as minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa from 2017 to 2019.

He argues that the UK still has a “lot of clout in the region,” thanks to its strong trade links, common security interests and “exceptionally good ambassadors throughout the area.”

Taking note of the landmark peace deal that was brokered by China between Saudi and Iran in March, Burt emphasized that this deal could be a turning point in regional politics. Still, he cautioned that ensuring both parties would follow the agreement would be “complex,” adding that “Iran has not always been in a position to deliver on everything it might have signed up.”

That being said, Burt expressed his views on the West taking a back seat in the region’s affairs and that it should be prepared to “watch rather than be involved.” When asked if the deal comes as a “slap in the face” of the West, Burt disagreed with that as a description “because that assumes that everything revolves around us, and it doesn’t.”




Burt, who has served as UK minister for the Middle East, appearing on the Arab News current-affairs talk show Frankly Speaking. (AN Photo)

However, he did note that a more stable Saudi-Iran dynamic could lead to de-escalation in other conflicts, such as the war in Yemen. With the growing willingness to participate in diplomatic dialogue, both countries have the opportunity to de-escalate tensions and redirect their focus toward resolving the decade-long war in Yemen.

Burt has visited Yemen several times and called the crisis there “deeply, deeply distressing” and urged the potential players to create a “peace with compromise.”

He warned that the “total domination of one group over another, whether it’s Houthis or anyone else, is not a basis for long-term stability; it only produces the opportunity for more conflict going forward in the future.”

He cautioned that “the structure of Yemen will have to be looked at. The position of the south and the potential opportunities there for a different constitutional structure.”

The UK has recently appointed a new ambassador to Yemen, lawyer and diplomat Abda Sharif, who is well known and admired by Burt. He called her a “very capable and an outstanding choice of ambassador” for Yemen.

He said that she arrives at a “good time,” but admitted that while the UK’s diplomatic experience will be “looked for” in Yemen, ultimately, the UK will “not be the arbiters” in the conflict.

If the UK government has made mistakes in the past, we’re very anxious to make sure they’re put right in the future.

Alastair Burt

When it came to China’s increased role in the Middle East following its brokering of the Saudi-Iran deal, Burt said that “the region is changing, and I think the region’s influences are changing,” and “China is looking for new opportunities.”

He said he is not surprised by the findings of a recent study conducted by Arab News and YouGov, which revealed that 80 percent of Palestinians would accept a Chinese offer to mediate in its conflict with Israel, underscoring the disillusionment and distrust that exists toward traditional partners.

He added that the study’s findings indicated how “distrusted others have become.” However, he also cautioned against blindly accepting any new entrant’s motives, urging stakeholders to be wary and judge them on “what they do, not just what they say.”

His comments reflect the growing skepticism toward established mediators in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and highlight the need for fresh approaches to address the longstanding crisis.

Burt, who has long been a vocal advocate of a two-state solution, admitted that “so many in the Palestinian community” have “lost faith in the opportunity of a two-state solution” and “the degree of faith in their leadership.”

He also noted that for a long time, any criticism of Israel’s policies was met with accusations of antisemitism, which has stifled legitimate discussions on the conflict.




Burt also commented on the burning of a copy of the Qur’an outside a mosque in Sweden during the recent Eid Al-Adha holiday during his appearance on Frankly Speaking. (AN Photo)

The former UK politician said his country is “extremely concerned about the actions of the activities of the state of Israel,” and that people now realize they can “be a friend of Israel but not a friend of the government,” and that Netanyahu’s actions toward occupation and settlements should face “legitimate criticisms.”

Burt also commented on the burning of a copy of the Qur’an outside a mosque in Sweden during the recent Eid Al-Adha holiday, which has sparked outrage across the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Swedish police had initially given Salwan Momika, the perpetrator of the crime, a permit for the protest under the country’s free speech laws. Police in Stockholm are now investigating the incident for incitement of hatred. Momika has vowed to repeat his actions within days.

Burt slammed the act, saying: “It’s nothing to do with freedom of expression or freedom of speech. The burning of sacred books as a provocation is always wrong and should always be prevented. Any sensible state would do so.”

He added that the threat posed by the rise in expression of hate is “very, very dangerous and very scary” and said that no one could afford to be complacent, cautioning that it could “spark anywhere.”

Looking into other regional crises, such as Sudan, the UK has been criticized for its lack of decisive action after evacuating diplomats over citizens when fighting broke out in the North African country on April 15.

Burt defended the actions of the government, which resulted in cases such as the death of an elderly disabled British woman who starved after snipers shot her husband, despite repeated calls to the British Embassy that her family says was just meters from their home.

He said that the “sudden outbreak of violence caught a lot of people by surprise,” but that the government “worked very hard to get people out in very difficult circumstances.”

He added that he knew “Foreign Office staff who went out into danger zones in order to seek to ensure that citizens could get away.”

But he admitted that “when conflict arises, you can’t guarantee everyone’s safety … what it demonstrates is that there are almost impossible decisions to make in these circumstances … . I have been involved in hostage situations where we’ve made such a decision, and something has gone wrong, and lives have been lost. So, you can’t always get it right.”

 


Hundreds of thousands flee as Israel seizes Rafah in new Gaza ‘security zone’

Updated 03 April 2025
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Hundreds of thousands flee as Israel seizes Rafah in new Gaza ‘security zone’

  • Airstrike kills at least 27 Palestinians, including women and children, inside a school building

GAZA: Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced “security zone” they intend to seize.

A day after declaring their intention to capture large swaths of the crowded enclave, Israeli forces pushed into the city on Gaza’s southern edge, which had served as a last refuge for people fleeing other areas for much of the war.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported at least 97 people killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including at least 20 killed in an airstrike around dawn in Shejaia, a suburb of Gaza City in the north.

FASTFACT

The assault to capture Rafah is a significant escalation in the war, which Israel restarted last month after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January.

Later on Thursday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 27 Palestinians, including women and children, inside a school building that served as a shelter for displaced families in Gaza City, local health authorities said.
The Israeli military claimed the attack hit key Palestinian “terrorists.”
Medics said three missiles slammed into the Dar Al-Arqam school building in Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, and the Israeli military said it struck a command center that militants had used to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and army troops.
Rafah “is gone, it is being wiped out,” a father of seven among the hundreds of thousands who had fled from Rafah to neighboring Khan Younis, said via a chat app.
“They are knocking down what is left standing of houses and property,” said the man.
The assault to capture Rafah is a significant escalation in the war, which Israel restarted last month after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January.
In Shejaia in the north, one of the districts where Israel has ordered the population to leave, hundreds of residents streamed out on Thursday, some carrying their belongings as they walked, others on donkey carts and bikes or in vans.
“I want to die. Let them kill us and free us from this life. We’re not living, we’re dead,” said Umm Aaed Bardaa.
In Khan Younis, where a strike killed several people, Adel Abu Fakher was checking the damage to his tent: “There’s nothing left for us. We’re being killed while asleep,” he said.
Israel has not spelled out its long-term aims for the security zone its troops are now seizing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops were taking an area he called the “Morag Axis,” a reference to an abandoned former Israeli settlement between Rafah and Khan Younis.
Gazans who had returned to homes in the ruins during the ceasefire have now been ordered to flee communities on the northern and southern edges of the strip.
They fear Israel intends to depopulate those areas indefinitely, leaving many hundreds of thousands of people permanently homeless while Israel seizes some of Gaza’s last agricultural land and critical water infrastructure.
Since the first phase of the ceasefire expired at the start of March with no agreement to prolong it, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, recreating what international organizations call a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel’s military said on Thursday it was investigating the deaths of 15 Palestinian aid workers found buried in a shallow grave in March near Red Crescent vehicles, an incident that caused global alarm.
The military said troops fired on the cars, believing they carried fighters.
Israel’s stated goal since the start of the war has been the destruction of the Hamas militant group, which ran Gaza for nearly two decades.
But with no effort made to establish an alternative administration, Hamas returned to control during the ceasefire.
Fighters still hold 59 dead and living hostages Israel says must be handed over to extend the truce temporarily; Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that permanently ends the war.
Israeli leaders say they have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, with hundreds of people demonstrating in north Gaza’s Beit Lahiya on Wednesday. Hamas calls the protesters collaborators and says Israel is behind them.
The war began with an attack on Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023 with gunmen taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s campaign has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities say.
Rafah residents said most of the local population had followed Israel’s order to leave as Israeli strikes toppled buildings there.
However, a strike on the main road between Khan Younis and Rafah stopped most movement between the cities.
The movement of people and traffic along the western coastal road near Morag was also limited by bombardment.
“Others stayed because they don’t know where to go, or got fed up of being displaced several times. We are afraid they might be killed or at best detained,” said Basem, a resident of Rafah who declined to give a second name.

 


Lebanese leaders reach consensus on border demarcation to present to US envoy

Updated 03 April 2025
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Lebanese leaders reach consensus on border demarcation to present to US envoy

  • President Aoun tells top military officers: Lebanon’s interests are above everything else
  • Joseph Aoun: It is the state that protects Lebanon, not its sects

BEIRUT: Lebanese leaders have reached a unified position on border demarcation to present to Morgan Ortagus, the US envoy, who is scheduled to arrive in Beirut before the end of the week.

President Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, agreed that there “will be no negotiations with the Israeli side regarding (a) prisoner swap or withdrawal from the Lebanese hills still occupied by the Israeli Army,” a source in the government told Arab News on Thursday.

“However, Lebanon is open to discussing disputed land border points,” the source added.

“Regardless of the US envoy’s proposals, the Lebanese stance remains unchanged,” said the source, who clarified that the Lebanese Army “is fulfilling its duties by being deployed south of the Litani River and confiscating weapons in the border area, as acknowledged by the US side overseeing the ceasefire monitoring committee and the UNIFIL forces.”

The source said that the military had made significant progress on the issue, destroying weapons and ammunition seized from Hezbollah sites.

Aoun told top security officials on Thursday that Lebanon’s interests comes above anything else.

He was speaking during a visit to the leadership of the Internal Security Forces and the General Security Directorate.

“We have a great opportunity to seize at all levels, and we must show the people that we are mature enough to build the state and that we will build it,” he said.

The president called on security bodies to “remain unaffiliated with anyone, serve only Lebanon’s interests, and enforce the law,” noting that “the world is ready to help us, but we must first help ourselves.”

Aoun stated: “Lebanon’s interest comes above anything else. It is the state that protects Lebanon, not its sects. Parties and sects prioritize their interests, whereas your duty is to serve Lebanon.

“You must reject any demands or interference that might harm the nation’s interests and prompt people to respect the law, keeping in mind that no request outside the law will be tolerated.”

Also on Thursday, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi, the highest Maronite religious authority in Lebanon, said the time “has come to unify weapons in Lebanon, as stipulated in the Taif Agreement.”

He also told the Lebanese Editors Syndicate that the military “needs strengthening and support from other nations, but the solution now is diplomatic, as we are incapable of engaging in war, and no one can confront Israel.

“What has the resistance achieved with all its weapons against the Israeli war machine,” he asked, adding “now is not the time for normalization with Israel, as there are other issues that must be addressed first, such as border demarcation and disarmament.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would not withdraw from the five positions it controls in Lebanon.

He was speaking during a visit to an Israeli military site in southern Lebanon — one of the five hills still occupied since the ceasefire declaration in November.

At the site, which is near the Israeli settlement of Margaliot, Katz stated Israel’s presence at the five locations will be determined not by time but by the situation on the ground.

“Only if Hezbollah disarms and withdraws from the border can we discuss the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from these positions, and this matter is being coordinated with the Americans,” he said.

Katz anticipated “an increase in activity among Palestinian organizations, including Hamas, in Lebanon and Syria.”

He stated: “We are working to prevent the arming of Hezbollah and Palestinian organizations. The challenge will begin and intensify.”

Katz claimed that Hezbollah “is not a protector of Lebanon.”

He added: “The Iranians now realize that it is no longer capable of defending them.”

Elsewhere, an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle on the main road between Bint Jbeil and Yaroun in the border area.

The drone struck the vehicle from behind, resulting in two injuries, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.

The Israeli military conducted airstrikes around Naqoura and one strike in the town’s center, targeting pre-fabricated homes as replacements for the destroyed houses and facilities.

These pre-fabricated facilities were being used to meet citizens’ needs, serving as a substitute for the municipal building, destroyed by Israel following the ceasefire, said Naqoura Mayor Abbas Awada.

He highlighted that recent aggression occurring in proximity to UNIFIL headquarters falls “under the jurisdiction of the five-member ceasefire monitoring committee and UNIFIL forces.”

Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Authority reported that Israeli strikes destroyed a “newly established civil defense center and damaged ambulances and firefighting vehicles.”

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Armed Forces have taken proactive measures, with military units removing “engineering obstacles placed by Israeli forces inside Lebanese territory” near Al-Labouna in the Tyre region.

The military also closed an unauthorized dirt road created by Israeli units in the same area.

In an official statement, the Lebanese Army Command affirmed its ongoing commitment to “addressing Israeli violations through close coordination with the ceasefire monitoring mechanism and UNIFIL.”

The Army Command condemned Israel’s “persistent violations of Lebanese sovereignty and targeting of civilians across multiple regions.”

In another development, UNIFIL Western Sector Commander Gen. Nicola Mandolisi conducted his first meeting with Khirbet Selem Mayor Mohammed Rahhal.

Their joint statement highlighted “UNIFIL’s commitment to facilitating the safe return of displaced residents and supporting Lebanese military operations through strategic partnerships with the Fifth Brigade and the Second and Fifth Rapid Intervention Regiments, key components in regional stabilization efforts.”


South Sudan clashes kill 30: local official

Updated 03 April 2025
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South Sudan clashes kill 30: local official

  • The attack in northern Ruweng Administrative Area began earlier in the week
  • Local media reported that some of those killed were members of the armed groups

JUBA: At least 30 people were killed when a northern South Sudanese town was briefly overrun by an armed youth group, a local official said Thursday, following a cattle raid.
Clashes involving pastoralists and settled farming communities are common in the world’s youngest country, but this incident comes as tensions rise over South Sudan’s fragile political situation.
The attack in northern Ruweng Administrative Area began earlier in the week when a group of armed youth stole lambs before they were scared off by security forces, said Simon Chol Mialith, the local Minister of Information.
The following day, he told AFP, the group returned in greater numbers and attacked Abiemnom, and although “the youth and the security forces tried to defend the town, they were overrun by the Mayom armed youth.”
On Wednesday the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) drove the group from the settlement, Mialith said, where calm has now been restored.
“The number has risen to 30 people confirmed dead and over 40 persons wounded,” he said, without giving further details.
Local media reported that some of those killed were members of the armed groups, but AFP was unable to confirm this.
The incident comes as forces allied to President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar clash across the country, sparking regional concern and threatening a fragile peace deal in 2018 that ended a five-year civil war.
South Sudan has been bedevilled by instability and insecurity since independence in 2011, and despite its natural oil resources remains deeply impoverished.


Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu

Updated 03 April 2025
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Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu

  • The governing body of the International Criminal Court voiced regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it was leaving the court, saying any departure harmed a “shared quest for justice”

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority has urged Hungary to arrest visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court warrant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
“The ministry calls on the Hungarian government ... to comply with the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant by immediately handing Netanyahu over to bring him to justice,” the Ramallah-based Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement hours after Hungary announced it would withdraw from the ICC.
The governing body of the International Criminal Court voiced regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it was leaving the court, saying any departure harmed a “shared quest for justice.”
“When a state party withdraws from the Rome Statute (that established the ICC), it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity,” the presidency of the Assembly of State Parties said in a statement.
The court is “at the center of the global commitment to accountability,” and the international community should “support it without reservation,” the statement added.
“Justice requires our unity.”
The governing body also extended an olive branch to Hungary, which earlier Thursday announced it was starting the one-year process to withdraw from the ICC.
Every court member “has the right to voice its concerns before the Assembly,” it said.
“The presidency strongly encourages Hungary to have a meaningful discussion on this issue.”
In the meantime, the body urged Hungary to “continue to be a resolute party to the Rome Statute.”
Budapest said it was quitting the ICC just as Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosted Netanyahu.

 


Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths

Updated 03 April 2025
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Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths

  • The military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command
  • Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military is conducting an investigation into an incident in Gaza in which a number of emergency and aid workers were killed, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, rejecting a description of the incident as an “execution.”
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command to establish what happened and “hold accountable people if we need to.”
Last month, the bodies of 15 workers from the Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense and United Nations were found buried in a shallow grave at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, close to their wrecked vehicles.
Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers but the military has described an incident on March 23, when it said its troops fired on vehicles bearing Red Crescent markings near Rafah, killing nine members of militant groups.
“Our initial investigation found that there were terrorists in these cars, using those Red Crescent cars,” Shoshani told a briefing with journalists.
Asked how the troops knew that there were militants in the cars, he said: “It is based on different ways of intelligence and also based on the information gathered on the ground at the time of the event.”
He said troops later also fired on other unmarked vehicles that approached without emergency lights or prior coordination.
“I can’t go into the reasoning and what they did because this is under investigation,” Shoshani said. “We will investigate this incident and once we have the answers, we’ll put them out clearly and communicate everything we know and everything we’ve found,” he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, which said eight of its staff had been killed in the incident, said Israel had targeted the group and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
The medical team had been sent into Rafah as Israeli forces were advancing into the area after resuming operations in Gaza on March 18, following a two month-long truce, UN officials have said.
When the bodies were found, they were still in their medical uniforms and wearing gloves.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the people had been killed by Israeli forces and demanded “answers and justice.”
Shoshani denied reports that some bodies in the grave had been found with hands tied, and rejected the term “execution” to describe what happened during what he called “an operational event.”
“Not an execution,” he said.