Qatar intensifies efforts to halt fighting, protect civilians
Doha, The Gulf Observer: Qatar is observing the region’s expanding violence with grave concern, particularly the shelling between the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israeli army across the international border.
Qatar has renewed its call for all parties to halt the escalation to attain calm and entirely stop the armed confrontations on all fronts to protect the region from the danger of descending into a wider cycle of violence.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the continual communications taking place by Qatari officials with the relevant parties, as part of regional and international efforts to de-escalate the situation.
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is directly communicating with a number of his counterparts and senior officials in the Arab region and worldwide, discussing the developments of this crisis and calling for immediate and essential measures to stop the fighting. Qatar reiterated its condemnation of all forms of targeting civilians, along with its call to protect them from consequences of the conflict, and reaffirmed that the only guarantee to achieve a sustainable peace in the region is to attain a just and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian cause within the framework of the Arab initiative that ensures the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on the 1967 borders with Eastern Jerusalem as its capital.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs received phone calls from US Secretary of State H E Antony Blinken, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France H E Catherine Colonna yesterday. They discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and Israel, and means to reduce the escalation.
The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs also discussed in phone calls with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt H E Sameh Shoukry, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain H E Jose Manuel Albares latest developments in the Palestinian territories and Israel and ways to de-escalate the situation.
The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed Qatar’s deep concern about the escalation of violence between the two sides, stressing the need to exercise utmost restraint. He also stressed the need to combine efforts to calm the situation, reduce the escalation and spare civilians the consequences of the confrontations.
