UNSC Condemns Israeli Aggression Against Qatar

DOHA: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has said that the Israeli attack on Doha while Qatar was engaged in mediation has clearly revealed Israel's premeditated intent to undermine every effort toward peace and to prolong the immense suffering of Palestinian people.

He also said that it has also made clear that the extremists who govern Israel today have no regard for the lives of hostages and that their release is not a priority for them.

The Security Council held an Emergency Meeting yesterday under the agenda item“Situation in the Middle East.” The meeting was requested by Algeria, Pakistan and Somalia to address Israel's September 9 strike in Doha. The meeting request was supported by France and the United Kingdom.

Members of the UN Security Council affirmed their strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar, in line with the principles of the UN Charter.

In the statement issued during the emergency meeting, Council members expressed solidarity with Qatar and emphasised the importance of the ongoing diplomatic efforts led by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, urging all parties to seize the opportunity for peace.

According to a presss statement, the members condemned the recent bombardment in Doha on the 9th of this month and expressed deep regret over the loss of civilian lives, reiterating the importance of de-escalation.

They further stressed that the release of hostages, and bringing an end to the war and suffering in Gaza, must remain key priorities.

The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said that beyond the genocide in Gaza and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip-met with no deterrent action from the international community-Israel's destructive acts now extend to sovereign states, destabilizing regional security unchecked.

“The arrogance has reached the point of openly invoking not only fantasies of reshaping the region by force, but even invoking metaphysical justifications and ideological dogma, as Israel's current extremist government proclaims publicly to its own masses, imagining no one else is listening.”

He continued,“Needless to say, the states and peoples of the region cannot accept such conduct or the rhetoric accompanying it. We firmly believe in mediation and peaceful settlement of disputes. Qatar's role is valued regionally and internationally. Our experience, in partnership with Republic of Egypt and the United States of America, has yielded tangible results: the release of 148 Israeli and foreign hostages, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”

He said that these were rare glimmers of hope in this bloody conflict.“Yet, the attack on our territory while we were engaged in mediation has clearly revealed Israel's premeditated intent to undermine every effort toward peace and to prolong the immense suffering of our Palestinian brothers and sisters-suffering that words cannot describe.”

“It has also made clear that the extremists who govern Israel today have no regard for the lives of hostages and that their release is not a priority for them."

“Otherwise, how could one explain the timing and location of this attack, launched precisely as negotiations were underway to discuss a ceasefire proposal recently advanced by the United States? The Hamas negotiating delegation was meeting to deliberate on the US paper when Israel bombed the meeting.”

He further said,“Mr. President, I stand before you today to demand that this esteemed Council assume its historic responsibility. Silence in the face of such law-of-the-jungle tactics and the targeting of a sovereign state in broad daylight undermines the foundations of international order and jeopardizes the future of any peace process in our region.” He said that the continuation of these attacks does not target Qatar alone as it is a direct threat to every state engaged in efforts to make peace, undermining confidence in the very credibility of the United Nations system.

“The State of Qatar, under the leadership of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, reaffirms that it will continue its humanitarian and diplomatic role without hesitation, wherever that role can save lives.”

“At the same time, it will not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty and security and it reserves its legitimate right to respond through means guaranteed by international law. We in Qatar are advocates of peace, not war. We have chosen peace as our path, and we will not be deterred from it by advocates of war and destruction.”

The Prime Minister said,“We address your Council today in the aftermath of an extremely grave escalation that constitutes a threat to regional peace and security, and therefore lies at the very heart of the Council's mandate under the UN Charter.”

He said that at 3:46pm on Tuesday (September 9), an Israeli strike treacherously targeted one of the residential compounds designated by the State of Qatar for the accommodation of negotiating delegations as part of the multiple mediation efforts undertaken by Qatar.“These were facilities where members and staff of the Hamas negotiating delegation and their families resided openly, in full view of all parties concerned with the mediation, and indeed known to journalists and diplomats who had held meetings with members of the delegation there.” Following the immediate technical investigations by the security services and verification of the identities of those affected by the Israeli bombardment, he said, it was confirmed that a number of casualties had fallen, including the martyrdom of Qatari national Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari, 22 years old, who was killed in the line of duty.

“In addition, several civilians and members of the Qatari Internal Security Forces tasked with protecting the compound were injured with varying degrees of severity, all of whom are currently receiving medical care. Investigations and the process of identifying the missing at the site are still ongoing. The attack also caused terror among civilians and children in a residential neighborhood densely populated with schools, nurseries, and diplomatic missions.”

He added,“What occurred constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of a full member state of the United Nations, committed by an extremist leadership utterly divorced from the conduct of civilized nations that believe in peace. Violating the sovereignty of a state that is expending every effort to achieve a ceasefire and save lives places the entire international order to a true test.”

He noted that Israel, under extremist, bloodthirsty leadership, has overstepped every limit set by international law and norms, and even the most basic moral principles of human interaction-not only between states, but between human beings.

“It has become impossible to predict what Israel might do next. How can Israeli officials come to negotiate in Doha, hosted on our soil, while their leadership simultaneously plots to bomb those very premises-and then carries out the attack? Have you ever heard of a state that bombs the mediator's territory with fighter jets, and during negotiations attempts to assassinate members of the very delegations it is negotiating with at their meeting site-only for its Prime Minister to later issue shameful justifications and false comparisons to legitimize his crime, condemned by the entire world?”

“Instead, the Prime Minister (Israeli) ought to recall the Taliban precedent, when its political office in Doha served as a channel of communication that led to the peace agreement in Afghanistan, ending decades of bitter war.”

The United States, he said, throughout its negotiations with the Taliban, never targeted its interlocutors.“On the contrary, the world witnessed the success of my country, in partnership with the United States under President Donald Trump, in ending the longest war in US history in 2020. This is the approach that the Israeli Prime Minister now targets, attempting to distort it with cheap rhetoric for emotional manipulation. These ongoing violations of international law, these actions devoid of the most basic norms of human conduct, demonstrate only one thing: that Israeli leaders today are intoxicated with arrogance and the illusion of power, convinced of their impunity and exemption from accountability.”

He noted that the only path to peace is through negotiations, beginning with a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and prisoners, the unconditional delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the lifting of the blockade.

He concluded by saying,“Allow me, on behalf of all peace-loving people of the world, to conclude on a note of optimism: we must not surrender to the arrogance of extremists. We must continue striving for a lasting peace, based on the two-state solution-through the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state on its national soil in accordance with international legitimacy, with two states and two peoples living side by side in peace.”

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