October 2023 - UnewsUK

Nawaz Sharif says ‘no wish to take revenge’, seeks support of all ‘constitutional institutions’

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif said Saturday he had no intention of taking revenge on his political opponents and at the same time asked all constitutional institutions to join hands for the country’s development, as the three-time prime minister ended four years of self-imposed exile in London.

The former prime minister briefly landed in Islamabad, where he signed and filed appeals against the convictions he was jailed for before he left the country in 2019. After a few hours’ stay, Nawaz flew to Lahore to kick-start his party’s campaign for next year’s election in a rally of thousands of his supporters.

Read all updates of his homecoming here.

While he cannot run for or hold public office because of his convictions, Nawaz promised to tackle record inflation.

“I don’t have the slightest wish for a revenge but all I wish is to see the no poverty or illetracy in the country,” said the 73-year-old veteran politician in his address at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore.

“I am meeting you after a long time, but my love for you remains intact. You have never betrayed me and I have never betrayed you,” he told the crowds, wearing his signature red scarf.

Nawaz said his spirits to serve the country have not died even after four years.

“We’ll have to decide how to regain the lost status,” the former premier said while vowing to resolve the country’s issues.

‘Progress not possible under conflict with neighbours’

Nawaz also hinted at mending the country’s ties with India, saying that “we can’t progress under conflict with the neighbours”.

He said that Pakistan will have to move ahead “with grace and tactics” for the resolution of Kashmir issue.

Earlier, Nawaz began his speech that he was proud to see “loyalty in the eyes of people”.

He said that he served the country with loyalty whenever he was given a chance, he resolved the issues of Pakistan and never hesitated from any sacrifice.

The former premier regretted the “false” cases against him, Shehbaz, Maryam, and other PML-N leaders.

Nawaz brandishes power bills during his time as PM

The PML-N supremo recalled making Pakistan a nuclear power and “ending” load shedding in the country during his time as the prime minister.

“Do you remember those 18 hours of loadshedding? Who ended it?” he asked, noting that it was under his leadership that the power issue was resolved.

He then showed the bill as well, which has now skyrocketed due to the rupee-dollar parity and a rise in fuel prices.

‘Some wounds never heal’

The former premier stressed that “some wounds never heal”, saying that the wealth of this life may go away and come back to you with the blessings of God but the loved ones who pass away never come back,” he said while referring to the passing away of his mother and wife when he was facing the legal battles.

He said that these women won’t be there to receive him at his home like they did in the past.

He then recalled the time when he was given the news of his wife’s passing.

Why are my govts ousted? Nawaz asks once again

Sharing his ordeal in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, three-time former premier Nawaz said that Maryam lost consciousness when he told his daughter about the death of her mother.

The elder Sharif said: “I am a true Pakistani.”

Talking about Pakistan’s nuclear tests on May 28, 1998, the former premier said that then-United States president Bill Clinton and other world leaders had been pressuring and refraining him from the tests and offered $5 billion in this regard but he refused the offer and made Pakistan a nuclear state.

Without taking the name of deposed premier Imran Khan, the elder Sharif asked: “Could he have dared to refuse the US president?”

“Clinton had offered $5 billion to me in 1999 for not carrying out nuclear tests, but my conscience did not allow me to accept the thing which was against the interest of Pakistan,” he added.

He maintained that they conducted the nuclear tests and gave India a befitting response.

“Are our [PML-N] governments toppled down and rulings are issued against us [for refusing the US and taking stance for the interest of Pakistan]?,” said the PML-N supremo.

Nawaz laments ongoing economic crises

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif said no one in Pakistani would be unemployed if his party was allowed to continue the “1990s momentum”.

“I was ousted because I didn’t allow the dollar rate to fluctuate,” he said.

Nawaz lamented that due to the ongoing economic crisis, “one has to decide whether to pay electricity bills or take care of one’s children”. “People are committing suicide, and borrowing money to pay the bills.”

“[During my tenure] the poor had enough financial resources to [at least] to seek healthcare and get himself treated.”

“This didn’t start in Shehbaz’s tenure. it started way before that. The dollar was out of control, bills were going up, and rates of daily utilities and petrol were also surging.”

“During our tenure sugar was 50 rupees per kilogram, today it is at 250.”

“This is why you ousted Nawaz Sharif?” the former prime minister said while criticising his disqualification in 2017.

“Pakistan was on its way to becoming an Asian tiger, we were preparing to ensure Pakistan’s inclusion in the G20.”

“A lot of countries which were trailing us are now leading us. We have been left behind. Not only do we have to catch up with those countries but in fact have to surpass them.”

Nawaz slams PTI’s sit-ins

Turning his guns towards arch-rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Nawaz slammed the sit-ins staged by the former ruling party.

“I am addressing any political gathering after a gap of six years as I faced cases for two years.”

“I have come today with electricity bills from May 2016 during my tenure as PM when there were sit-ins but we were busy doing our work.”

“You know who was orchestrating the sit-ins? […] But we ensured the provision of electricity to your homes despite the sit-ins,” Nawaz said while commenting on sit-ins during his tenure.

Moving on to skyrocketing inflation, the PML-N supremo said that roti was being sold for Rs4, sugar at Rs50 per kilogramme and petrol at Rs60 per litre in his tenure.

“US Dollar was at Rs104,” he said, adding that they did not let the local unit fall against the greenback.

He once again raised questions over his disqualification as prime minister and asked the participants if they agreed with the verdicts against him.

“I was ousted from the Prime Minister’s Office for not taking salary from my son,” he added.

The former premier claimed that there would have been no poverty and unemployment in the country if the work started in 1990 continued.

Nawaz condemns Israeli bombardment of Gaza

Commenting on the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Palestine, Nawaz said: “We condemn the barbarism, and brutalisation of Palestinians […] May Allah help Palestine [Palestinian people].”

“We urge the world [powers] to ensure a [viable] solution of Palestine [issue].”

10 key takeaways from Nawaz Sharif’s homecoming speech

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif made a long homecoming speech at Lahore’s iconic Minar-e-Pakistan, where he revealed his agenda for pulling the country out of persistent crises and the upcoming general elections.

The three-time former prime minister has resided in London for the past four years due to a self-imposed exile after he was allowed to travel to the British capital in 2019 on health grounds.

Let’s take a look at important points from his speech today:

– “I do not want to take revenge,” said Nawaz, dispelling rumours that he would adopt a confrontational policy in the lead-up to the general polls.

– He said that “all constitutional institutions” should work together — an important statement for the institutions with whom Nawaz has had a dark past.

– “I am talking with much restraint today so that I may not utter the words that I’m not supposed to,” Nawaz said.

– The PML-N supremo said Pakistan cannot prosper if it is in a battle mode with its neighbours.

– He reminded people of the “good” times during his government’s tenure.

– Nawaz did not utter the name of his arch-foe Imran Khan once but made several references to him without naming him.

– He also recalled the deaths of his mother and wife, whom he said he lost due to politics.

– Nawaz reiterated his famous mantra: “Why was my government ousted?”

– “We should not allow anyone to play with the country’s fate in the future,” he said.

– Nawaz said will have to go on the track of development “with double speed” as “beggers cannot resolve” the nation’s problems.

Russia seeks new Security Council meeting on Gaza war

Russia intends to hold another UN Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the war between Israel and militant group Hamas, Russia’s deputy UN envoy said Saturday.

Russia convened a meeting on the war on Monday but its ceasefire resolution failed due to opposition from four council members including the US, which criticised its draft for not mentioning Hamas.

“We will definitely convene a new meeting of the Security Council. As practice has shown, no one but us dares to do so,” Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said.

He did not say when Russia, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, would hold the meeting.

“Regarding a resolution, I don’t know how fast we’ll get to the next stage of trying to pass a resolution,” he added.

He was speaking in an interview on the Solovyov Live TV channel.

Russia has repeatedly called for talks on ending the conflict, which has risked undermining its growing ties with Iran and complicated its relations with long-time partner Israel.

President Vladimir Putin spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Iranian and Arab leaders earlier this week in the hope of launching peace talks.

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials. Israel says around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area under attack.

More than 3,700 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in relentless Israeli bombardments in retaliation for the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist militant group, according to the latest toll from the Hamas health ministry in Gaza.

It was the worst attack on civilians in Israel’s 75-year history, and coincided with the end of the religious holiday of Sukkot.

Israel warns Gaza City residents to move south

JERUSALEM: Israel warned more than one million residents of a northern zone around Gaza City to flee to the south as, according to a military spokesman, the Jewish state plans to step up air strikes to “increase pressure on Hamas”.

Israel believes that Hamas leaders and infrastructure are concentrated in the north. But hundreds of thousands of civilians are said to remain in and around Gaza City.

“We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us,” spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari told a press conference.

“From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimising the danger. We will increase the attacks and therefore I call on Gaza City residents to continue moving south for their safety,” Hagari added.

The Israeli military said it aimed to reduce the risks its troops would face as they enter Gaza in the “next phase of the war on Hamas”.

An Israeli siege has cut food, water, electricity and fuel supplies to the densely populated territory of 2.4 million people, sparking fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Tens of thousands of Israeli troops have deployed to the Gaza border ahead of an expected ground offensive that officials have pledged will begin “soon”.

Israeli commanders visited frontline units on Saturday in a new sign of military readiness.

“We will enter Gaza,” Israel’s chief of staff Gen Herzi Halevi told an infantry brigade on a visit.

“Gaza is densely populated, the enemy is preparing a lot of things there. But we are also preparing for them,” Halevi said.

“We will enter for an operational mission, a professional one, to destroy Hamas activists,” he added.

Thousands of people have taken part in a pro-Palestinian protest in London for the second consecutive weekend.

The Met Police estimated up to 100,000 people had joined the march, which ended in a rally near Downing Street.

Smaller demonstrations also took place on Saturday in Birmingham, Belfast, Cardiff and Salford.

It comes as aid deliveries reached Gaza for the first time since Israel imposed a blockade following a Hamas attack which killed 1,400 people in Israel.

Palestinian officials say more than 4,000 people have since been killed in Israeli bombing.

The Met Police said more than 1,000 officers were involved in policing the London event.

A total of 10 arrests were made linked to the protests in London for offences involving fireworks, public order and assaulting an emergency service worker, the force said.

The central London march attracted up to 100,000 people, police said

A protest also took place in Birmingham on Saturday

In Cardiff, around 1,000 protesters waving Palestinian flags and supportive placards took part in a march towards the Welsh Parliament.

The demonstration was organised by several groups who are calling on the British and Welsh governments to insist on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for “full humanitarian aid” to be sent in.

Maggie Morgan, from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign Cardiff, said: “We are taking to the streets as a show of solidarity to the people of Gaza, to show our support for them, but also to make the government listen, and say ‘not in our name, we’re not having this.'”

Protesters in Cardiff marched towards the Welsh Parliament

Demonstrators gathered outside the BBC’s headquarters in Belfast on Saturday

Israel cut off supplies of fuel, electricity and water to Gaza after Hamas’s military wing broke through the border into Israel on 7 October, killing people and taking more than 200 hostages.

Since then, Israel has launched waves of aerial strikes on the Gaza Strip, targeting what it says are structures linked to Hamas. Hamas says the strikes have left thousands of civilians dead.

The strikes have displaced around 1.4 million Gazans, with more than half a million people in 147 UN shelters, the UN says.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said it would “deepen” and “increase” the strikes, to allow Israel to “minimise the risks to our forces in the next stages of the war”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there should be increased humanitarian access to Gaza.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Sunak – who this week visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – said the UK supported Israel’s right to defend itself against a “murderous enemy” but the area faced an “acute humanitarian crisis”.

He said people in Gaza were suffering and he wanted to see a “stream of trucks” passing through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, and the restoration of water supplies to Gaza “where physically possible”.

Earlier on Saturday, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned the conflict is threatening to engulf the Middle East.

Mr Cleverly has visited Israel, Turkey and Qatar as part of diplomatic efforts around the worsening crisis in Israel and the Occupied Territories.

Speaking at the Cairo Peace Summit, he said: “This has been an issue which has long stimulated passions and we are now all seeing on social media and in our communities how divisive and polarising the current situation has become.

“So we have a duty to work together to prevent instability from engulfing the region and claiming yet more lives.”

Protesters on the London march were heard chanting a slogan that some use to call for Palestinian control of all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Israel.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, calls for the destruction of Israel.

She has previously urged police chief constables to “consider… whether its use in certain context may amount to a racially aggravated” offence, although the Met has said the chant alone does not constitute a criminal act.

In Belfast, protesters held a demonstration outside BBC Northern Ireland headquarters.

People Before Profit assembly member Gerry Carroll said they aimed to “challenge” how the BBC had covered the conflict in the Middle East.

A BBC spokesperson said the corporation had provided audiences around the world with coverage and first-hand testimony “of the atrocities committed by Hamas, and the suffering in Gaza”.

“We have made clear the devastating human cost to civilians living in Israel and Gaza, and the unprecedented nature of what has happened,” the spokesperson added.

The demonstration in Salford was held outside the Media City complex, where the BBC has its offices – with protesters there also criticising the corporation for its reporting of the conflict.

Pakistan to learn from China’s success in agricultural modernisation: PM Kakar

URUMQI: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Friday said that Pakistan would learn from China’s success in the agriculture sector.

Addressing the students and faculty at Xinjiang University, the premier said: “We seek to learn from Xinjiang’s success in agricultural modernisation and aim to set up a joint agricultural demonstration zone to introduce modern farming techniques and practices in Pakistan.”

He further said that Pakistan aimed to utilise the position of China’s Xinjiang province as an “important node” of the economic corridor between the two countries.

In this regard, PM Kakar said, Islamabad would jointly work with Beijing to identify the respective strengths of Gilgit Baltistan and Xinjiang.

“The two neighbouring regions had the potential to build synergies for improving the livelihoods of their people,” he added.

The premier flew to Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi Thursday evening from Beijing where he participated in the Third Belt and Road Forum and met the Chinese leadership and other foreign dignitaries. The prime minister said as per the consensus reached in Beijing during his visit, a land border at Sost, Khunjerab would be converted into an all-weather border. “We would like to upgrade the customs and other logistics services to facilitate trade and the movement of people, he said.

The premier termed Gwadar a key component of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and proposed to deepen economic cooperation by effectively using the sister-city relationship with China’s Kashgar and Karamay.

He went on to say Pakistan desired linkages with the industries of Xinjiang and Pakistan, particularly the Gilgit-Baltistan region with focus on cooperation in solar energy. He emphasized collaboration between the two regions in areas of culture, agriculture, tourism, education and joint research. Pakistan, he said, would like more of its students to study in China.

The premier invited tourists from Xinjiang and other parts of China to visit Pakistan and mentioned that recently a 15-member group of Chinese tour operators visited Pakistan and returned via Sost Khunjerab border. PM Kakar said Xinjiang was known for its rich diversity in culture and hospitality, adding that the region had a special place in the hearts of Pakistanis for the neighbourly linkages.

Xinjiang, he said, was not only a channel of trade but a vital bridge connecting the two nations. Kakar said the unique Pak-China relationship was rooted in bilateral trust, shared aspirations and invaluable warmth nurtured by successive generations.

“Pakistan views its ties with China as a longstanding strategic partnership,” he said. He mentioned that as CPEC entered its new phase, it helped in developing Pakistan’s infrastructure and improved the lives of its citizens. “My visit to China is essential in chalking out a new road-map and a new vision based on economic, people-to-people bonds, sustainable development, peace and stability and academic and technical exchanges. He expressed Pakistan’s principled position on Xinjiang and unequivocal support to China on matters related to its core position.

Kakar also spoke about the situation in the Middle East and called for efforts to stop the acts of barbarism against the people of Palestine.

The prime minister on the occasion interacted with Pakistani and Chinese students and expressed high hopes for them to act as a bridge of friendship and brotherhood between their countries in the years to come.

He also visited the History Museum at Xinjiang University where he was briefed about the history of the 99-year-old university.

PML-N competent enough to steer country out of crisis, says Nawaz Sharif

DUBAI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said that he is returning to Pakistan after “vindication” and added that his party is “competent enough” to steer the country of crisis.

“I am returning to Pakistan after being vindicated with the grace of Almighty Allah,” he said on Saturday while speaking to the journalists at Dubai airport ahead of Pakistan departure.

The three-time former prime minister is returning to Pakistan after ending 4-year self-imposed exile in London and is hoping to make a political comeback in the upcoming general elections expected to be held in the last week of January next year.

The former PM said his party is in a position to resolve the masses’ woes if elected into power.

Responding to a question related to the general elections, Nawaz put his weight behind the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“Only the Election Commission can make a better decision regarding the elections. What the Election Commission thinks is right is my preference on the elections,” said Nawaz when he was asked about the January polls.

He also said that a “fair” Election Commission is in place in the country.

The PML-N supremo believes that his party is competent enough to take Pakistan out of the crisis that it is presently in.

“We are competent enough to solve the country’s problems,” he said.

While mentioning the achievements of his previous sting powers, the PML-N supremo lamented that the country is in a much “worse situation” rather than being in a good position.

“The situation in Pakistan is very disturbing and that is very worrying,” said Nawaz.

‘Lion of Punjab’

Nawaz has spent the past several days in Riyadh and Dubai, and is expected to arrive in Islamabad in the afternoon today from where he will leave for Lahore, where his supporters will gather for a welcome home rally.

His return has been touted for months by the PML-N, whose leaders hope Nawaz´s political clout and “man of the soil” swagger will revive its flagging popularity.

However, the former leader has a conviction for graft and an unfinished prison sentence hanging over him.

Earlier this week, the PML-N chief’s smooth return to the country was ensured after he secured relief from the Islamabad High Court and an accountability court, averting the threat of immediate arrest when he lands back in the country.

Nawaz has been prime minister three times, but was ousted in 2017 and given a lifetime disqualification from politics after being convicted for not declaring a receivable salary.

He served less than a year of a seven-year sentence before getting permission to seek medical care in the United Kingdom, ignoring subsequent court orders to return during former prime minister Imran Khan´s government.

His fortunes changed when his brother Shehbaz Sharif came to power last year and his government oversaw changes to the law, including limiting the disqualification of lawmakers from contesting elections to five years.

Fans call him “the Lion of Punjab”, the eastern and most populous province where his support is strongest, and he is known to parade big cats at extravagant political events drumming up support.

Beijing condemns new US sanctions on Iran

China condemned “illegal” US sanctions on Thursday, a day after USA imposed new measures targeting individuals and entities, including those based in China and Hong Kong, that allegedly support Iran’s missile and drone programmes

According to media reports, US administration have unveiled new sanctions on actors in Iran, Hong Kong, China and Venezuela, accusing them of “enabling Iran’s destabilizing ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programmes”.

It is pertinent to mention, a number of restrictions imposed by the United Nations Security Council on Iran’s missile programme were lifted on Wednesday as part of the country’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

But on the same day, the United States slapped new sanctions targeting Tehran’s missile programme while the European Union last month decided to impose restrictive measures under “the EU non-proliferation regime”.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China was “always firmly opposed to illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the US”. “We will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens,” she said.

The US Treasury Department said on Wednesday that it was sanctioning 11 individuals, eight entities and one vessel.

The people targeted have “materially supported” Iran in the production and proliferation of missiles and drones”, the Treasury added.

“Iran’s reckless choice to continue its proliferation of destructive UAVs and other weapons prolongs numerous conflicts in regions around the world,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.

A speech made by Prince Turki al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia this week on the current violence in the Middle East is unusually frank for a senior member of the Saudi royal family.

It has been widely acknowledged as the clearest indicator yet of the Saudi leadership’s thinking on the situation.

Prince Turki, a widely respected elder statesman in Saudi circles, has publicly condemned both Hamas and Israel for attacking civilians, following Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel and the subsequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza. There were no heroes, he said, only victims.

Such is the groundswell of Arab anger at those Israeli air strikes that Prince Turki, who was addressing a US audience at Rice University in Houston, is a rare Arab voice of criticism of Hamas in the current climate.

The group’s acts, he said, went against Islamic injunctions not to harm civilians. The majority of those killed or kidnapped by Hamas were civilians.

Prince Turki, a careful, thoughtful ex-diplomat and spy chief, balanced his condemnation of Hamas with that of Israel, which he accused of “indiscriminate bombing of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza” and the “indiscriminate arrest of Palestinian children, women and men in the West Bank”.

He took issue with the US media’s use of the phrase “unprovoked attack” in reference to the 7 October raid, saying: “What more provocation is required.. than what Israel has done to the Palestinian people for three-quarters of a century?”

He added that “all militarily occupied people have a right to resist occupation”.

Prince Turki also condemned Western politicians for “shedding tears when Israelis are killed by Palestinians”, but refusing to “even express sorrow when Israelis kill Palestinians”.

President Joe Biden has since said, during his visit to Israel, that the US mourned all innocent victims.

So what lies behind this speech, which the prince must have known would be widely reported?

It is unlikely that he would have spoken without first checking in with his country’s Royal Court, run by the all-powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who held talks with Rishi Sunak on Thursday.

Prince Turki has quite a pedigree. His father was the popular and modernising King Faisal, who was assassinated in 1975. His brother was Saudi Arabia’s longstanding foreign minister until his death in 2015.

Prince Turki’s US and British education at Princeton, Cambridge and Georgetown has given him an invaluable perspective on Western culture and thinking, as well as providing him with lifelong contacts amongst decision-makers in Washington and Whitehall.

He went on to become Saudi Arabia’s spy chief, running the foreign intelligence department for 24 years, with special responsibility for Afghanistan.

Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 he became Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in London and then Washington.

In London, his media spokesman at the embassy was the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was eventually murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by Saudi government agents in 2018. Saudi Arabia blamed this on an unauthorised “rogue operation”.

Now aged 78, with no formal position in the Saudi government, Prince Turki al-Faisal nevertheless provides an intriguing insight into Saudi thinking on the few occasions when he speaks publicly at international forums.

Saudi Arabia’s rulers don’t like Hamas. In fact, many of the governments in the region don’t like it either. The rulers of Egypt, Jordan, UAE and Bahrain see Hamas and its revolutionary brand of so-called “political Islam” as a threat to their secular rule.

The Palestinian Authority, based on Yasser Arafat’s Fatah party, was effectively chased out of Gaza by Hamas in 2007. Some of its members were thrown off the roofs of high buildings during a short-lived internecine conflict.

Although Hamas maintains a political office in Qatar its main backer is Iran, which has long been a historic rival to Saudi Arabia.

Although the Saudis and Iranians formally agreed to end their dispute in March this year, there remains considerable mutual mistrust between them. Despite this, they have jointly condemned Israel’s bombing of Gaza and reaffirmed their support for a Palestinian state.

It is hard to believe now but only two weeks ago, prior to the Hamas raid, Saudi Arabia was well on the way to normalising ties with Israel, just as the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco have done. This is now on hold.

Several analysts believe that Hamas’s deadly raid into Israel was partly prompted by a desire to derail that normalisation that would have left Hamas and Iran sidelined in a new Middle East.

Will things ever return to the status quo in the region?

Right now, it is hard to see that happening, with a wounded Israel in no mood for compromise and nervous Arab governments eyeing the growing anti-Israel protests on the streets.

But when the current conflict in Gaza ends, as it must do, then it may well be Saudi Arabia’s deep pockets that help fund its reconstruction. It will be worth watching Prince Turki’s speeches for the Saudi view of whatever comes next.

Israel has suggested that the long-term aim of its military campaign in Gaza is to sever all links with the territory.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that once Hamas had been defeated, Israel would end its “responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip”.

Before the conflict, Israel supplied Gaza with most of its energy needs and monitored imports into the territory.

The statement comes as Israel continues its strikes on Gaza and aid remains blocked on the border with Egypt.

The bombardments are a response to attacks by Hamas gunmen on Israel on 7 October, in which at least 1,400 people were killed and 203 taken hostage. Israel is now poised to launch a ground offensive.

On Friday, Mr Gallant told a parliamentary committee that the first stage of the campaign was meant to destroy Hamas’s infrastructure, according to a statement from his office.

Israeli forces, he added, would then launch “operations at lower intensity” to eliminate “pockets of resistance”.

The third phase, he said, “will require the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel”.

There has been no let-up in Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip

Although Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the UN regards the strip – along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem – as occupied land and considers Israel responsible for the basic needs of its population.

Israel has previously allowed Gazans to cross the border for work. It has also overseen imports into the territory to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas.

Following the 7 October attacks it cut electricity supplies, as well as deliveries of food and medicines. The UN calls the situation there “beyond catastrophic”.

The US and Egypt have reached a deal allowing some supplies to start bringing relief Gaza’s 2.2 million residents.

An initial convoy of 20 trucks had been expected to enter southern Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Friday, but they are still stuck on the Egyptian side.

Humanitarian organisations say much more aid is needed.

A humanitarian convoy is still waiting to be allowed through the Rafah crossing

On Friday UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the crossing with a plea for aid trucks to be allowed into the territory.

“These trucks are not just trucks – they are a lifeline, they are the difference between life and death to many people in Gaza,” he said. “What we need is to make them move.”

Meanwhile Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has confirmed that he will join several world leaders at a summit in Cairo on Saturday aimed at achieving a ceasefire.

The event, hosted by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, will involve talks on trying to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution.

Those attending will also include Mr Guterres and representatives from the EU, as well as several Arab and European countries.

Month: October 2023