Arab | Pakistan

LAHORE: Iranian-American academic and political scientist Vali Nasr suggested on Friday that the war on Palestine had politically weakened Arab states and emboldened Israeli leaders, to the point that the latter had abandoned the two-state framework entirely. Speaking at a session titled ‘The Gaza War and the Remaking of the Middle East’, moderated by journalist Najam Sethi, Mr Nasr implied that the situation has proven detrimental to the Palestinian cause. He said Israel now believes it can pursue its objectives primarily through force. “With Arab states politically neutralised, Israeli leaders see little incentive to return to negotiations,” he added. According to him, Israeli leadership now views political compromise with the Palestinians as a security liability rather than a pathway to stability, effectively abandoning the two-state framework. Following the Gaza war, Israel moved against Hezbollah in Lebanon, significantly weakening the group’s operational capacity. The collapse of the Assad regime in Syr...

Muslim and Arab countries, in a joint statement released on Friday, underscored their “absolute rejection” of any attempts to displace Palestinians from their land. Israel announced on Wednesday it would unilaterally open the Rafah crossing to allow residents to flee the Gaza Strip, a move swiftly rejected by Egypt as Cairo insisted on lifting the blockade in both directions to relieve the besieged Palestinian territory. Egypt refused to facilitate what critics fear is the forced displacement of Palestinians, insisting on adherence to the terms of the United States-brokered peace plan, which mandates full humanitarian access. The Rafah crossing, the only vital artery to the outside world for the residents of Gaza not controlled directly by Israel, has been shuttered for months, strangling the flow of life-saving aid. The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar expressed concern over the use of the Rafah crossing to expel Palestinians....

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday said the entry of other Arab nations in the mutual defence deal between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was not ruled out, saying the “doors are not closed” for such developments. Pakis­tan and Saudi Arabia entered into a landmark mutual defence agreement, under which any aggression against one state will be considered an attack on both. The ‘Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement’ was signed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman at the Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Wednesday. Talking more about the deal in an interview on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ and whether more Arab nations could become part of it, Asif said: “I cannot prematurely answer this, but I will definitely say the doors are not closed.” Asif said he had always called for a similar arrangement like Nato since there was greater vulnerability for Pakistan, pointing to the history of the region in the last 40-50 years. “I think it is a fundamental right of the ...

Arab and Muslim leaders called for a review of ties with Israel after emergency talks in Doha on Monday following last week’s deadly strike on Hamas members in the Qatari capital. The Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) joint session, which brought together nearly 60 countries, sought to take firm action after Israel’s attack on Qatar-hosted Hamas officials as they discussed a Gaza ceasefire proposal. It was co-sponsored by Pakistan. A joint statement from the summit urged “all states to take all possible legal and effective measures to prevent Israel from continuing its actions against the Palestinian people”, including “reviewing diplomatic and economic relations with it, and initiating legal proceedings against it”. Qatar’s fellow Gulf nations, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, were among those present that recognise Israel. The leaders of the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, which signed the Abraham Accords recognising Israel five years ago to the d...