“It is only by making those concessions that we can ensure security and prosperity to the people of the region. We have adopted an all-encompassing and integrated approach to the crisis in the middle east, by calling to end of hostilities and mitigating their impact on the peoples of the region, launching high-level diplomatic effort, both at the Arab and international levels, and asking the Security Council to revive the stagnant peace process in the Middle East on all tracks, within the previous frameworks already agreed upon,” Jamal Nasser Al Bader, Deputy Permanent representative of Qatar to the UN said in an open debate of the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East.
As you all may know, since the beginning of the Arab Israeli conflict, there has been no shortage in that region of diplomatic initiatives for settlement, or for resolutions by the international legitimacy embodied by the Security Council and the General Assembly.
What we really lack is the political will necessary to achieve peace, he told Security Council members, he said.
Today, and despite all the efforts made, the crisis in our region has never been more tense, and worse, it has become sustained.
This sate of affairs should come as no surprise to us, for we occasionally witness the bloodshed of innocent people and the destruction of their homes, which in turn cause frustration and despair, Al Bader said.
The logical outcome of that situation is a deepening feeling of hatred that takes the shape of a sustained cycle of violence.
Some consider that Palestinian violence is the reason for the continuation of the crisis and that ending it is the way to achieve peace. Such an approach is extremely simplistic and could not be farther from reality.
The root causes for that violence should be dealt with and, to that end, we should approach that issue from a holistic angle without being selective or harbouring prejudgments.
Restoring rights to their legal owners is the most efficient way to put out the fires of hatred and eliminate the major pretext used by extremists, he underlined.
He stressed that the Arab leaders, by recently upholding the choice for peace, had shown a genuine will to achieve a just settlement to bring security to all the states in the region.
Forming a Palestinian government of national unity will take down one of the hurdles that hinder the peace process, and create a political climate conducive to pushing this process forward, he said noting that it is in everybody’s interest that such Palestinian government would be able to carry out it vital functions of providing its population with security and basic services.
He called on the government and people of Israel to seize these positive developments and resume direct and serious negotiations on all tracks and on the states and parties concerned to lift their embargo on the Palestinian people so that the Palestinian government would become capable of discharging its functions that are required in the peace process.
Touching on Lebanese situation, Al Bader said preserving the stability, security and sovereignty of Lebanon is of utmost importance to achieve peace and stability in the middle east as a whole. Lebanon is still in need for support from the international community in order to overcome the devastating effects of the latest war waged against it by Israel, he said.
“We, in the State of Qatar, believe that the respect of the sovereignty of Lebanon and the non-interference in its internal affairs by all parties, ending the almost daily aerial violations by Israel of Lebanese air space, and the withdrawal from the remaining Lebanese occupied territories by Israel, would ensure the stability of the security situation in accordance with resolution 1701,” he stressed.
On Syrian Golan heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, he said this question constitutes a very important part of the question of the middle east, and settling it would decrease tensions in the region. Re-launching the negotiations between the parties concerned is the best way to implement the relevant security council resolutions and settling that question.
