Qatar welcomes Macron’s call to halt weapon supplies to Israel
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s call to stop supplying weapons to Israel. “Macron’s call is an important and appreciated step towards stopping the war and is consistent with UN resolutions and the International Court of Justice,” it said.
“We renew our call to the international community to take firm decisions to compel Israel to stop its aggression on Gaza and Lebanon,” it added.
Blinken calls Qatar’s PM on Lebanon
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says on X that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, on the phone today.
He said the pair spoke on “the importance of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to allow civilians to return to their homes in Lebanon and Israel”.
Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, deals with implementing the full cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and Israel accuse each other of failing to adhere to the terms of this resolution.
The two men also touched on currently stalled efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, Miller added.
Iranian presence at the summit of Asia is important – Analysis
Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a Middle East security specialist and a professor of modern Middle East politics at the University of Cambridge, says Iran’s presence at the Third Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit being held by Qatar is “important at this juncture”.
“They are discussing the situation with their Arab and Gulf colleagues. And the Arab neighbours have been assuring Iran that they will be neutral in any particular conflict that might arise as a result of Israeli retaliation [to Iran’s missile attack],” she told Al Jazeera.
“I think this is very reassuring for Iran,” she added.
‘No security will be found in greater destabilisation’: UK PM
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for restraint saying Israel’s yearlong war on Gaza has affected community relations in the UK.
“The sparks light touchpapers in our own communities here at home,” Starmer wrote in the Sunday Times before the anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel. “Israel and the Middle East are not just inseparable from our nation’s history. They have a deep relationship with our multicultural society. Millions have family ties to the region.”
While Starmer said the UK would “stand with Israel in the face of Iranian aggression”, he also cautioned “a better future will not be won by traumatising, orphaning and displacing another generation.”
“The anniversary of the October 7 attacks should remind us of the cost of political failure. No security will be found in greater destabilisation.”
