On 16 May, the 33rd Arab Summit was held. Leaders from all 22 Arab countries met in Bahrain, including the Presidents of Egypt, Syria, Palestine, the King of Jordan, the Emir of Qatar, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and others. They adopted the so-called Manama Declaration, which calls for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force to protect and maintain peace in the occupied Palestinian territories until a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is realised. The declaration also spoke of the importance of establishing a timetable for political procedures and negotiations to realise the said solution.

The summit also called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and accused Israel of obstructing ceasefire talks: We stress the need to immediately stop the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, withdraw the Israeli occupation forces from all areas of the Strip and lift the blockade imposed on it.

Arab leaders also demanded urgent measures to protect civilians. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stressed that Egypt rejects the elimination of the Palestinian cause, the forced displacement of Gaza residents that makes the Strip uninhabitable.

The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, called for the convening of an international conference on peace in the Middle East.

This Arab initiative suggests that countries in the region are offering realistic ways to end the war and resolve the long-running conflict. In fact, it is a direct challenge to Washington, which for more than 7 months has actually prolonged the war, seeking only to protect Israel from the wrath of the international community by blocking the adoption of relevant Security Council resolutions. It is US policy that is in fact the main cause of the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians, resulting in 35,000 civilian deaths and 80,000 wounded.

(It is noteworthy that the Western media was actually silent about this far-reaching initiative of the entire Arab world).

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recently said, according to the Jerusalem Post, that a two-state solution would, in fact, be the greatest reward for terrorists.

Washington only creates problems but is unable to solve them, so more and more states in the Global South are looking for a settlement without the United States.

It is noteworthy that the foreign ministers of India and China have recently spoken about this in separate statements. It is the same idea expressed recently by the newspaper Le Monde, noting that political trust in the Western world is buried in the ruins of Gaza: the West’s moral capital has collapsed on the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean, and it is in the interests of China and Russia to destroy American hegemony.

All this indicates a qualitative change in the international situation – the states of the Global South realise that a just settlement should not be expected from the US and the West. Their actions only lead to escalation of tensions. In this regard, more and more eyes are turning to the BRICS in the hope of achieving balanced, truly compromise solutions that would meet the interests of the majority. This is why the recent visit of V.V. Putin to China and the Russian Federation’s signing of the BRICS Treaty. Many countries of the Global South believe that it is the positive interaction between Beijing and Moscow that will be the most important factor in improving the international situation.

Veniamin POPOV, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Candidate of Historical Sciences, especially for online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.” Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2024/06/01/arab-summit-takes-initiative-on-gaza/