UAE Calls for Arab Coalition to Face Threats in Region

UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
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UAE Calls for Arab Coalition to Face Threats in Region

UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash stressed the need for a moderate Arab coalition to face the threats in the region. His speech was made during the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate (ADSD), organized by Emirates Policy Centre.

Building a strong moderate Arab center to address common regional security challenges is already underway, he said, adding that "for this Arab-led approach to be successful, we must continue to develop our own capabilities."

"It is critical that Saudi Arabia and Egypt play a leading role in helping to steer the region in a more positive direction. Their stability is so important for the future of the whole region, and it is also why we welcome the proposal for a Middle East Strategic Alliance – it will allow countries with moderate agendas to work closely with the United States," Gargash stated.

He went on to say that the GCC would be an important part of this alliance.

“Iran has been a primary source of sectarianism in the region," he added. "We believe that Iran is threatening the security of the region's countries by supporting armed militias and its proxies, like Hizbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen in addition to its use of cyber attacks and carrying out acts of terror in the region and beyond, like those witnessed in Europe."

The minister reaffirmed the UAE's support for the US President Donald Trump's policy toward Iran and his strategy to stand up to its aggressive and destabilizing conduct.

"Another pillar for stability is for the region's countries to pursue good governance. Like other peoples of the world, the region's people seek good health, education and job opportunities; they aspire for prosperity and in case youth in our region have not been promised their dreams will come true, they would opt for extremism," he said.

Gargash continued: "It is now high time for Houthis to de-escalate the situation and start a fresh round of peace negotiations. The ball is now in their court and the international community has to contribute to reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict by getting the Houthis to the negotiating table and cut off military supplies and funding provided to them by Iran."



Pope Calls Gaza Airstrikes 'Cruelty'

A Palestinian mourns as he carries the shrouded body of a child, killed in an Israeli strike the previous night, during a funeral in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on December 21, 2024, as the war between Israel and Hamas militants continues. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian mourns as he carries the shrouded body of a child, killed in an Israeli strike the previous night, during a funeral in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on December 21, 2024, as the war between Israel and Hamas militants continues. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Pope Calls Gaza Airstrikes 'Cruelty'

A Palestinian mourns as he carries the shrouded body of a child, killed in an Israeli strike the previous night, during a funeral in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on December 21, 2024, as the war between Israel and Hamas militants continues. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian mourns as he carries the shrouded body of a child, killed in an Israeli strike the previous night, during a funeral in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on December 21, 2024, as the war between Israel and Hamas militants continues. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Pope Francis on Saturday again condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, a day after an Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff for suggesting the global community should study whether the military offensive there constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.

Francis opened his annual Christmas address to the Catholic cardinals who lead the Vatican's various departments with what appeared to be a reference to Israeli airstrikes on Friday that killed at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza, Reuters reported.

"Yesterday, children were bombed," said the pope. "This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart."

The pope, as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts, but he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In book excerpts published last month, the pontiff said some international experts said that "what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide.”

Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli sharply criticized those comments in an unusual open letter published by Italian newspaper Il Foglio on Friday. Chikli said the pope's remarks amounted to a "trivialization" of the term genocide.

Francis also said on Saturday that the Catholic bishop of Jerusalem, known as a patriarch, had tried to enter the Gaza Strip on Friday to visit Catholics there, but was denied entry.

The patriarch's office told Reuters it was not able to comment on the pope's remarks about the patriarch being denied entry.