Bahrain, Jordan Stress Need to Reduce Regional Tension, Military Escalation

Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein and Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa during their meeting on Wednesday in Amman (Petra News Agency).
Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein and Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa during their meeting on Wednesday in Amman (Petra News Agency).
TT

Bahrain, Jordan Stress Need to Reduce Regional Tension, Military Escalation

Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein and Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa during their meeting on Wednesday in Amman (Petra News Agency).
Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein and Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa during their meeting on Wednesday in Amman (Petra News Agency).

The kings of Jordan and Bahrain underlined the importance of reducing tensions in the Middle East and avoiding military escalation.
During a meeting in Amman on Wednesday, the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the Jordanian monarch, Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, discussed the political and security situation in the Middle East, and stressed the need for the international community, especially the Security Council, to immediately implement ceasefire resolutions in Gaza.
The Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported that the two monarchs “discussed means to strengthen bilateral cooperation and economic integration and reviewed current regional and international issues.”

They also stressed the importance of protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip, ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and preventing further escalation of the crisis, expressing their rejection of ground attacks on Rafah and the displacement of Palestinians from their lands.
The two sides reiterated the need to respect the historical and legal status of Jerusalem, and to stop Israeli attacks on religious places. They also condemned the construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as a violation of international law.
The two leaders called for coordinating Arab and international efforts to achieve just and comprehensive peace in the region, support the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the two-state solution.
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa stressed the importance of Jordanian custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, praising the ongoing diplomatic efforts made by Jordan under the leadership of King Abdullah II in supporting the Palestinian cause and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, in addition to the humanitarian programs to support the Palestinian people.
The Bahraini king left Jordan after a short visit.

 

 

 



Qatar PM Hopes Palestinian Authority Will Return to Gaza When War Ends

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
TT

Qatar PM Hopes Palestinian Authority Will Return to Gaza When War Ends

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

Qatar's Prime Minister said in Davos on Tuesday he hoped the Palestinian Authority would return to play a governing role in Gaza once the war with Israel comes to an end.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Switzerland, two days after the ceasefire Qatar helped broker came into effect in Gaza, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani cautioned that Gazans -- and not any other country -- should dictate the way the enclave will be governed.

"We hope to see the PA back in Gaza. We hope to see a government that will really address the issues of the people over there. And there is a long way to go with Gaza and the destruction," he said.

How Gaza will be governed after the war was not directly addressed in the deal between Israel and Hamas movement that led to an immediate ceasefire and hostage releases after nearly 15 months of talks mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

Israel has rejected any governing role for Hamas, which ran Gaza before the war, but it has been almost equally opposed to rule by the Palestinian Authority, the body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords three decades ago that has limited governing power in the West Bank.

The PA, dominated by the Fatah faction created by former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, faces opposition from rival faction Hamas, which drove the PA out of Gaza in 2007 after a brief war.