Qatar has put itself solidly behind fellow Arab states that have decided to take Israel to the International Court of Justice for killing nine activists in a raid on Gaza-bound aid ships on Monday, and said it would meet all the expenses to be incurred on the legal proceedings.
Qatar has also said it would fund a worldwide media campaign to expose Israel, its blockade of the Gaza Strip and the aggression it has been perpetrating in the territory.
The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, told local Arabic dailies that Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, has assured the League of the country’s moral and financial support on the above issues. Read the rest of this entry »
Israeli commandos have attacked to Aid Flotilla, killing more than 10 peace activists headed to Gaza from 50 countries. Agencies said more than 10 people died 80 wounded.
Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel and warned of unprecedented and incalculable reprisals.
Six Turkish activists were reported to be among those killed in the flotilla. Ankara warned that further supply vessels will be sent to Gaza, escorted by the Turkish Navy. Turkish diplomats said that: there will be strict consequences of this terrorist action action of Israel.
Israel has rejected two proposals from Qatar to restore diplomatic relations and let Israel reopen its office in the capital of Doha.
A senior source in Jerusalem said that in return for renewed diplomatic relations, the Qataris demanded that they be allowed to carry out a series of reconstruction projects in the Gaza Strip and to import the necessary construction materials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman were unwilling to agree to this, he said. Read the rest of this entry »
The activists in the Palestine convoy started a protest after Egyptian authorities attempted to confiscate 57 vehicles belonging to American members of the convoy. The 500 protesters broke the port gates and set up a barricade with two trailers. Hundreds of Egyptian riot police sealed off the port.
The protest was initiated after Egyptian authorities moved to confiscate 57 vehicles that belonged to US citizens in the convoy. The activists shouted anti-Egypt slogans and removed two iron gates of the port. Riot police were deployed to the gate to stop the protesters leaving the port. The number of police forces was increased and they were backed up by armed vehicles and fire engines to intimidate the protesters.
About 500 activists from 17 countries protested Egypt for hours, shouting slogans such as “Egypt, do not push our patience,” “Do not be complicit in Israel’s crimes.”
Arab League chief Amr Mussa arrived in Yemen on Saturday in the first leg of a regional tour aimed at healing a rift that opened between Arab states during the 22-day war in Gaza, a spokesman said.
Mussa will try “to clear the air and to examine ways to deal with the current situation,” Arab League official Hisham Yussef told reporters.
Mussa will meet Jordanian King Abdullah on Sunday and then will travel to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Yussef said.
The war in Gaza, which ended on January 22, exposed deep divisions between Egypt and Saudi Arabia on the one hand and Syria and Qatar on the other. Read the rest of this entry »
Qatar’s prime minister yesterday sought the Turkish government’s support in organizing an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza.
In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Hamid bin Casim Cabir el Thani, to talk about Middle East peace.
“We would like to organize an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza in the shortest period of time and we want Turkish support of this conference,” el Thani said, according to the private CNN-Türk television.
Turkish officials said the venue and date for such an international conference were not yet clear and only said, “Preparations are under way.” El Thani praised Turkey’s sensitivity toward peace in the region and the Gaza issue. For his part, Erdoğan said the government’s efforts for peace would continue. “We consider this conference to be held for the reconstruction of Gaza as very positive.” Foreign Minister Ali Babacan was also present during the meeting of the two prime ministers. Read the rest of this entry »
Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani told Erdogan that his country desired to organize an international conference on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in the coming days, and asked for Turkey’s support for such an initiative, the Anatolian Agency reported.
Al-Thani also said Qatar highly appreciated Turkey’s sensitivity regarding regional peace and the Gaza issue during his meeting with Erdogan at the Prime Ministry building in Ankara.
Erdogan told his Qatari counterpart that Turkey would carry on with its efforts to establish regional peace, adding that the conference planned by Qatar is a positive development.
Egypt is to host an international conference in coordination with Abbas’s Palestinian Authority on March 2 on Gaza reconstruction, which was devastated during the Israeli onslaught. Gaza’s cost has been estimated at $2 billion. Saudi Arabia has said it would donate $1 billion.
Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged Europe to help with fast aid for the Gaza Strip, saying the reconstruction meeting would require damage assesments and the support of the European Union, the United Nations and others.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday met Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani and US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, seeking to boost prospects for reviving Israeli-Arab peace talks.
Sarkozy, who with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak helped broker a Gaza ceasefire last month, later held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris, the first stop of his European tour.
The French president has sought to carve out a greater role for Europe in the search for peace in the Middle East after the 22-day Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that left 1,330 dead.
After meeting with Sarkozy, HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said he supported a national union government for the Palestinians and that Arab countries should unite to support a Palestinian solution.
“Arab countries cannot support one Palestinian faction against another,” said the prime minister.
“These disagreements complicate Palestinian efforts to succeed in forming a government,” he told reporters.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, who also met French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, stressed the need for the speedy reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, warning that the Israeli blockade would further agitate the situation there. Read the rest of this entry »
Paris, France: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Qatar’s Shaikh Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani are meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Sarkozy had taken an active role in helping broker a ceasefire for Israel’s recent offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Qatar has also emerged as a regional mediator after it helped resolve a long-standing political crisis in Lebanon last year.
US envoy George Mitchell will also hold talks on Monday with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
Last week, Washington’ Mideast point man met with Palestinian officials, including Abbas.
Israel’s President Shimon Peres had launched a fiery defense of his country’s assault on Gaza over the past month and, with a raised voice and pointed finger, questioned what Erdogan would do if rockets were fired at Istanbul every night.
As the debate, which also included United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Arab League chief Amr Moussa, was ending, Erdogan was cut short as he tried to respond.
“I don’t think I will come back to Davos because you don’t let me speak,” the Turkish prime minister said, as he stood up and walked out of the conference hall in the Swiss ski resort.
“The president spoke for only 25 minutes. I have only spoken for half of that.”
Turkey’s state-run Anatolian news agency quoted Erdogan as saying to Peres: “When it comes to killing you know very well how to kill. I know very well how you killed children on the beaches.”
In a hastily-called news conference, Erdogan later explained that he had been upset with both the moderation of the debate and Peres’ manner.
“My reaction was directed at the moderator. I think that if we have moderation in this way, we won’t really get out of Davos what we all come here to get out of Davos, and it would cast a shadow over efforts to reach peace,” Erdogan said.
“President Peres was speaking to the prime minister of Turkey — I am not just some leader of some group or tribe, so he should have addressed me accordingly,” he told reporters.
The activists in the Palestine convoy started a protest after Egyptian authorities attempted to confiscate 57 vehicles belonging to American members of the convoy. The 500 protesters broke the port gates and set up a barricade with two trailers. Hundreds of Egyptian riot police sealed off the port.
