Has US threat to force Qatar to expel Hamas out of Doha collapsed the Ceasefire negotiations?

Has US threat to force Qatar to expel Hamas out of Doha collapsed the Ceasefire negotiations?

    Sunday, March 31, 2024   No comments

Although the US has warned the leaders of Qatar as early as October that they will need to reconsider the presence of the leaders of Hamas in Doha, the US wanted to use their presence there to strike deals that it wanted. However, with the negotiations for a ceasefire going nowhere, the US administrations wanted to leverage Qatar hosting of Hamas leaders to force them to accept a proposal the Biden administration formulated. 

CNN reported recently that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “delivered a stern message to Qatar earlier this month: Tell Hamas that they must deliver on a hostage and ceasefire deal that would halt the war in Gaza or risk getting kicked out of the Qatari capital of Doha.” That threat appears to have failed to achieve its goal and worse, it may have backfired.

First, Hamas leaders are now saying that there is no negotiation because their last counteroffer was not responded to by Israel in a way that will allow them to go on negotiating. Hamas and other Palestinian factions insist that there will be a deal only when a permanent ceasefire is approved and guaranteed by the mediators, when aid is delivered to all the people in Gaza, and when Israel forces leave Gaza, when people who lost their homes are sheltered. 

Second, Hamas and other Palestinian resistance leaders took the threat of being kicked out of Doha, the same way they way forced out Turkey, and offered a demonstration of what will happen if they are forced out of Doha: they will settle in Iran. Iran seems to be willing to not only host Hamas leaders, but to host them in a formal manner—something no other host nation has done for Hamas since their days in Syria pre-2012.

Just after the conclusion of the Persian new year celebrations, leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad were received by the highest officials of the Iranian government, including a couple meetings with the supreme leader. The message is clear: you can kick us out of Qatar and when you do, we will find home in a country that recognizes us as official representatives of the Palestinian peoples. That means, if Israel or the US wants to negotiate with Hamas, they will have to find someone else other than Qatar or Egypt to mediate. China and Russia willingness to receive Hamas leaders as official representatives of the Palestinian people make Iran's move less problematic.

Based on events on the ground, Hamas leaders having to leave another country to find refuge in Iran will only make Arab countries, like Qatar and Jordan look week. The daily denotations that are growing by the day in Jordan are a good indication of this trend.

Pro-Palestinian protesters in Jordan, March 30, 2024.

Egypt denies Israel's allegations of preventing aid from entering Gaza

Egypt denies Israel's allegations of preventing aid from entering Gaza

    Friday, January 12, 2024   No comments

As reported in international media outlets, Dia Rashwan, head of the Egyptian Information Service, categorically denied the allegations and lies of the Israeli defense team before the International Court of Justice, that Egypt is responsible for preventing the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.

Rashwan explained in a statement today, Friday, that the inconsistency and lies of the Israeli allegations are evident in the following points:

All Israeli officials, especially the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister of Energy, have confirmed dozens of times in public statements since the start of the aggression on Gaza that they will not allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip, especially fuel, because this is part of the war that their state is waging against the Strip.

  After all these statements, which did not consider this prevention and siege to be war crimes and genocide under international law, and when the occupying state found itself before the International Court of Justice accused with documented evidence of these crimes, it resorted to throwing accusations against Egypt in an attempt to escape its likely condemnation by the court. .

He said that it is known that Egypt's sovereignty extends only to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, while the other side of it in Gaza is subject to the actual occupation authority, which was actually demonstrated in the mechanism for the entry of aid from the Egyptian side to the Kerem Shalom crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to Israeli territory, where She is inspected by the Israeli army, before being allowed to enter the Gaza Strip.

He said that Egypt has announced dozens of times in official statements, starting with the President of the Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and all concerned parties, that the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side is open without interruption, calling on the Israeli side not to prevent the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip and to stop deliberately obstructing or delaying the entry of aid under the pretext of inspecting it.

He said that many of the world's senior officials, led by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, had visited the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side, and none of them were able to cross it into the Gaza Strip, due to the Israeli army preventing them from doing so, or fearing for their lives due to the ongoing Israeli bombing of the Strip.

He said that the negotiations that took place over the humanitarian truces, which lasted for a week in the Gaza Strip, in which Egypt, Qatar, and the United States were parties, witnessed extreme intransigence on the part of the Israeli side in determining the amount of aid that the occupation forces would allow to enter the Strip, given that they control it militarily, which resulted in The end of the entry of quantities announced at the time.

Rashwan said that in light of the continued Israeli intention to obstruct the entry of aid at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Egypt has resorted to assigning Egyptian trucks with Egyptian drivers to enter, after inspection, directly into the territory of the Gaza Strip to distribute aid to its residents, instead of transferring it to Palestinian trucks to do this.

He said that what confirms the Israeli occupation army’s control over the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip and its deliberate obstruction of it is what US President Joe Biden asked it to open the Kerem Shalom crossing to facilitate its entry, which was announced by his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on December 13, as good news.

Rashwan concluded his statement by saying: “If the Israeli authorities really want food, medical supplies, and fuel to enter the Gaza Strip, they have six (6) crossings from their lands with the Gaza Strip, and they must open them immediately for trade and not for the entry of aid, especially since this trade with the Gaza Strip has reached Gaza in 2022, more than $4.7 billion for the benefit of the Israeli commercial and industrial sector.”

Egypt and Iran will exchange ambassadors this year as part of a process mediated by the Sultanate of Oman and an upcoming meeting between Sisi and Raisi

Egypt and Iran will exchange ambassadors this year as part of a process mediated by the Sultanate of Oman and an upcoming meeting between Sisi and Raisi

    Wednesday, May 24, 2023   No comments

Egyptian officials told an Emirati newspaper today, Wednesday, that Egypt and Iran are expected to exchange ambassadors within months, as part of a process brokered by the Sultanate of Oman to normalize relations between the two regional powers.

Two officials told the English-language The National that a meeting had been agreed in principle between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Iranian counterpart, Ibrahim Raisi.

They said the meeting was likely to take place by the end of the year.

The news comes days after Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq paid a two-day visit to Egypt, where he discussed with Sisi including Cairo's relations with Tehran, according to the officials.

Oman enjoys close relations with Islamic and non-Arab Iran, and has often assumed mediating roles in regional disputes or in disputes pitting Tehran against other governments, in the Arab world and in the West.

For its part, Iran has said it wants better relations with Egypt, the most populous Arab country. However, the Egyptian government has been silent on relations with Iran, but regional media have been reporting on an imminent improvement in relations in recent weeks.

The two officials said normalizing relations with Iran guarantees Tehran's goodwill with regard to Cairo's efforts to forge closer economic and trade ties with countries such as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, where it wields significant influence.

According to the newspaper, mid-level diplomats and intelligence officials from Iran and Egypt have held closed-door consultations on normalizing relations since last March. The latest round of these talks was held earlier this month in Baghdad, whose government has close ties with Tehran.

And she continued: “In addition to bilateral relations, the talks touched on reducing tension in places where Iran exercises great influence, such as Yemen, Lebanon and Syria, by supporting allied Shiite governments or armed groups.”

She believed that "the thaw in relations between Cairo and Tehran would add a new layer to the ongoing regional realignment that is changing the political landscape in the region."

Saudi Arabia, for example, has agreed to restore diplomatic relations with Iran that were severed in 2016, thus removing a major source of tension in the Middle East. Egypt and Turkey are also working to resolve a decade-long dispute, and in the actual direction of normalizing relations.

The eight-year war in Yemen, where Iran supported Ansar Allah against the internationally recognized government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, has subsided dramatically amid diplomatic moves to end the conflict.

Syria returned to the League of Arab States this month, amidst a great Iranian welcome. President Bashar al-Assad attended the Arab Summit in Jeddah last week for the first time in 12 years.

Tehran's relations with Cairo have been fraught since the overthrow of Iran's Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Pahlavi died in Egypt in 1980 and was buried with other members of his family, causing tension between Cairo and Tehran.

Relations deteriorated further when the Iranian government named a street in Tehran after Khaled Islambouli, the Egyptian army officer who led a team of assassins who assassinated former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat during a 1981 military parade in Cairo.

Relations also increased tension over what Cairo considers Iranian interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

Unlike Saudi Arabia, which closed its embassy in Tehran in 2016, Egypt has maintained diplomatic representation in Iran since the Islamic Revolution. However, it has only the chargé d'affaires who manages its mission in Tehran. Iran on the other hand has a functioning embassy in Cairo.

Related to this development, the Omani news agency announced today, Wednesday, that the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, will visit Iran, next Sunday, on a two-day official visit, accompanied by a high-ranking official delegation.

The agency stated, in a statement, that the visit comes within the framework of strengthening the friendship ties between the Sultanate of Oman and the Islamic Republic of Iran, consolidating fruitful relations and good neighborliness between them, and in response to the invitation extended to him by the Iranian President, Ibrahim Raisi, to Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

The statement added that the visit contributes to consultation and coordination between the two leaderships to discuss various developments on the regional and international arenas.

At the beginning of this month, the Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Muhammad Bagheri, met the Sultan of Oman, and held a round of talks with him.

Iranian media reported that the Sultan of Oman told Bagheri, "The level of cooperation in various defense and military fields between the two countries' armed forces must be raised."

It is noteworthy that Tehran and Muscat have close relations, and they signed 8 memorandums of understanding and 4 cooperation programs last May, during Raisi's official visit to Oman.

During that visit, 12 cooperation documents were signed in the fields of energy, politics, transport, diplomatic cooperation, trade and economic relations, science, the environment and sports. A joint statement was issued by both sides at the end of the visit.

After his return to Tehran, Raisi confirmed that the positions of Iran and the Sultanate of Oman are "remarkably consistent on many issues," noting that "the good relations between Iran and Oman enhance regional cooperation."

Amman Consultative Meeting Statement: For the exit of illegal foreign forces from Syria

Amman Consultative Meeting Statement: For the exit of illegal foreign forces from Syria

    Monday, May 01, 2023   No comments

Summary:

- Cooperation between Damascus, the concerned countries, and the United Nations in developing a comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism in all its forms and organizations.

- The need for illegal foreign forces to leave Syrian soil.

- The need to deliver humanitarian and medical aid to the Syrian people.

- Working on ending the presence of armed and terrorist groups on Syrian soil.

- Cooperation of #Syria, #Jordan and #Iraq to locate and identify the sources of drug production and smuggling methods.

- Provide appropriate conditions in #Syria for the voluntary and safe return of refugees.

________________

Review of the meeting:

The final statement of the consultative meeting of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Al-Miqdad, held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, affirmed the priority of ending the Syrian crisis and all the suffering it caused to the Syrian people.

The statement stressed the need to end the negative repercussions of the crisis, regionally and internationally, through "a political solution that preserves Syria's unity, cohesion and sovereignty, meets the aspirations of its people, rids it of terrorism, and contributes to strengthening the appropriate conditions for the voluntary and safe return of refugees."

The statement called for a political solution to the crisis to lead to "the exit of all illegal foreign forces from it, to achieve national reconciliation, and to restore Syria's security, stability, health and role."

The statement called for the delivery of humanitarian and medical aid that contributes to meeting the life needs of all those who need it among the Syrian people, in all their places of residence, stressing that it is a necessity that all efforts must be combined to meet, in cooperation and coordination between the Syrian government and the relevant United Nations bodies, and in accordance with the decisions relevant United Nations.

The ministers participating in the consultative meeting welcomed the Syrian government's decision to open the Bab al-Salama and al-Rai crossings for the United Nations to deliver humanitarian and medical aid, after the earthquake that struck Syria on February 6.

The priority of the return of the displaced Syrians

The statement touched on the voluntary and safe return of Syrian refugees to their country, stressing that it is a top priority and the necessary steps must be taken to start implementing it immediately.

He also called for strengthening cooperation between the Syrian government and countries hosting refugees, and coordination with the relevant United Nations bodies, to organize voluntary and safe returns for refugees and end their suffering, according to specific procedures and a clear time frame, provided that the Syrian government begins by identifying the necessary needs to improve public services provided in areas of refugee return.

The statement called for intensified work with the international community and the United Nations to accelerate the implementation of early recovery projects for Syria, in a way that contributes to stabilization, and that steps be taken, as appropriate, to resolve the issue of the internally displaced, including the issue of the Rukban camp.

The statement referred to cooperation between the Syrian government and the Jordanian government, in coordination with the relevant United Nations bodies, in organizing a voluntary return of about a thousand Syrian refugees in Jordan.

The need to end the existence of various terrorist organizations

The meeting statement stressed the need for cooperation between the Syrian government, the concerned countries and the United Nations, in developing a comprehensive strategy to enhance security and combat terrorism in all its forms and organizations, and to end the presence of terrorist organizations in the Syrian territories, and neutralize their ability to threaten regional and international security.

In addition to affirming work to support Syria and its institutions in any legitimate efforts to achieve "extending its control over its lands, imposing the rule of law, and ending the presence of armed and terrorist groups on its lands," calling for stopping external interference in Syrian internal affairs, and for establishing effective coordination mechanisms between the military and security agencies. Syria and its counterparts in neighboring countries.

The statement called for work to resume the work of the Constitutional Committee, as soon as possible, in the context of political steps aimed at achieving comprehensive national reconciliation.

The meeting discussed the humanitarian aspect, and the steps required to achieve progress in efforts to address it, in a way that will directly affect the Syrian people, in addition to a number of security and political issues.

The foreign ministers also agreed with their Syrian counterpart on the agenda of the talks, which will continue according to a timetable to be agreed upon, according to the statement, and on the formation of a technical team at the level of experts, which will follow up on the outcomes of this meeting and determine the next steps.

The Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, and his Syrian counterpart discussed efforts to launch an Arab leadership role to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis and bilateral relations prior to the Amman Consultative Meeting.

From the humanitarian gate, Egypt moved towards raising the level of its relationship with Syria

From the humanitarian gate, Egypt moved towards raising the level of its relationship with Syria

    Monday, February 27, 2023   No comments

In a development that opens a new chapter in Syrian-Egyptian relations, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, was a guest in Damascus, where he met with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Al-Miqdad, and President Bashar Al-Assad, in a visit that is the first of its kind for a high-ranking Egyptian diplomatic official to Syria. Since 2011. The visit, which Shoukry tried to humanize, by confirming more than once that he came to announce his country’s solidarity with Syria against the background of the devastating earthquake that struck the country on the sixth of last February, coincides with an Arab movement on several levels, in which both The UAE and the Sultanate of Oman played a prominent role in converging points of view and reaching a suitable formula for all parties through which Damascus would return to playing its strategic role, especially after the crisis reached a state of intractability resulting from the failure of all attempts to change the regime in Syria.

During his meeting with al-Assad, the Egyptian minister conveyed a message from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in which the latter affirmed Egypt's solidarity with Syria, its willingness to continue supporting the Syrians in facing the effects of the earthquake, his pride in the historical relations between the two countries, and Cairo's keenness to strengthen these relations and develop joint cooperation. Al-Assad responded by thanking the Egyptian guest, and expressing Syria's keenness on relations with Egypt "within the natural and historical context," considering that "work to improve relations between Arab countries on a bilateral basis is the basis for improving the Arab situation in general." The visit of Ras Haram, the Egyptian diplomat, to Damascus comes to revive historical ties between the two countries, after a rupture that began in 2011, and reached its climax during the assumption of the “Muslim Brotherhood” to rule Egypt under the leadership of the late Mohamed Morsi, who announced in June 2013 that his country had officially cut ties with Damascus. And joining the anti-Syrian government coalition, embracing the activity of a section of the Syrian opposition, and calling for an air embargo on Syria. Several Egyptian sources narrate that the position of the Egyptian army, which was led at that time by Sisi, who held the position of Minister of Defense at the time, remained opposed to Morsi’s position, which was confirmed by the late Egyptian writer, Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, during a television interview, during which he stated that the Egyptian army rejected the policy of The late president, but the latter continued it.

After the collapse of the “Brotherhood” government, and the rise of Sisi to power, relations partially restored between the two countries, which was explicitly announced by the Egyptian president during a visit he made shortly after assuming power to the United States in 2014, where he referred to the strength of the ties that unite the armies of the two countries, and stressed that the unity of Syria It is considered part of the Egyptian national security. However, the ties did not rise to high levels, but rather were limited to the scope of security meetings, before the meeting that brought together the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Al-Miqdad, with his Egyptian counterpart in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in 2021, which constituted a milestone. In addition to close security and military cooperation, Syrian investors who transferred their investments from Syria to Egypt during the war played a prominent role in strengthening relations between the two countries, after the volume of those investments amounted to about $23 billion.

Syria has expressed, many times, during statements made by Al-Assad and Al-Miqdad, its understanding of the position of some countries that communicate with Syria in private due to Western and American pressures. Big "opening" steps. However, these circumstances seem to have begun to transform during the past few months, in light of several Arab initiatives led by Jordan, the Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman to break the political stalemate. The catastrophic repercussions of the earthquake provided an opportunity to move forward and open the door for Egypt, whose president, immediately after the disaster, initiated contact. Assad, and instructed to send aid by air and sea. At a time when there is talk in some Arab political circles of the existence of Saudi-Egyptian differences that could have constituted an additional motive for Cairo to take its broad step towards Damascus, the Arab moves indicate that the Egyptian openness falls within the framework of a broad Arab activity that does not exclude Riyadh, which the minister announced. Its foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan, changed his country's position on Syria, stressing the need to communicate with Damascus, which he is expected to visit in the coming days.

Despite the continuous openness of Arab capitals to Damascus, whether before or after the earthquake, these steps face many obstacles and difficult tests, most notably the US position rejecting this normalization, and the threat of unilateral US sanctions imposed on Syria, in addition to Washington's possession of many pressure cards that may initiate use during the next period.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talks about the upcoming convening of the Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum, and points out that "the Russian military operation in Ukraine continues"

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talks about the upcoming convening of the Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum, and points out that "the Russian military operation in Ukraine continues"

    Sunday, July 24, 2022   No comments

Today, Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Russian military operation in Ukraine is "continuing", noting that the door to negotiations is also "open to the Ukrainian side."

"The Russian operation in Ukraine will continue and we have not closed the door to negotiations," Lavrov said, during a speech before the League of Arab States, during his visit to Cairo, adding that the Russian side "presented draft proposals regarding negotiations to the Ukrainian government, but did not receive a response."

Lavrov stressed that "the Ukrainian regime is carrying out operations to bomb hospitals and civilian infrastructure," stressing that Russian forces "secure corridors across the Black Sea for the passage of grain ships, but Ukraine fails to do so due to the spread of mines."

On relations with the League of Arab States, the Russian Foreign Minister indicated that there is a proposal being discussed with the League of Arab States aimed at "identifying additional plans to strengthen joint relations."

He continued, "We agreed with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Aboul Gheit, to define additional plans to strengthen relations between the two sides in various fields," adding that "we plan to hold the Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum soon, in its sixth session, after it was held 5 times."

Lavrov: The Arab position on the crisis in Ukraine is balanced and the West ignores our concerns

 

Lavrov praised the moderate position of the Arab countries towards the course of the Ukrainian crisis, stressing that Russia is open to dialogue with the Arab world and with all countries of the world.

The Russian Foreign Minister stressed that Russian-Arab relations are based on friendship and cordiality.

Lavrov also explained the reasons that prompted Moscow to start the military operation in Ukraine, explaining: "We had legitimate concerns about our security, and our concerns about NATO expansion and Ukraine's acquisition of a lot of Western weapons were ignored."

He continued: "The Minsk Agreement was violated, Kyiv bombed areas rejecting it with artillery, while the European Union completely failed to fulfill its commitments."

Lavrov pointed out that the Kyiv regime deliberately banned the Russian language in eastern Ukraine, spread racism, anti-Russianism and support for Nazism, recalling that "the West obstructed the negotiation process", stressing at the same time that Russia does not close the door to negotiations with Ukraine.

He pointed out that the Europeans considered that NATO had the right to dominate and do as it pleased, stressing that Moscow "rejects this policy, as the NATO countries cannot maintain their security by threatening the security of another country."

Regarding the grain transport crisis, the Russian minister commented, "The Russian forces have secured passages across the Black Sea for the passage of grain ships, but Ukraine has failed in this because of its deployment of mines in the waters of the ports on the Black Sea."

   

Lavrov: Moscow Not Asking to Lift Sanctions, But West Must Resolve Self-Created Food Supply Issues

 

Earlier today, Lavrov said that "Egypt and Russia have basic agreements on a number of regional and global issues," adding: "We discussed the situation in Libya and the need to support the UN mission."

The Russian Foreign Minister called on Ukraine to remove the mines it planted in the ports, and said that "the West seeks to export Ukraine's wheat and ignores Russia's."

For his part, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed the importance of reaching a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, noting that the crisis "affected Egypt" with regard to food security.