Sunday 24 / November / 2024
Muscat: His Excellency Sayyed Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Minister of Foreign, stressed that the establishment of a Palestinian state is an existential necessity, and without a state, the Palestinians are doomed to a constant threat of destitution, extermination and death.
His Excellency reviewed the Palestinian issue, the historical developments and the obstacles that stand in the way of reaching a comprehensive settlement based on the two-state solution, while presenting a lecture at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies entitled “Talking with Everyone for the Interest of Everyone: Diplomacy in a Multipolar World,” which he delivered to a number of officials, academics and students studying in the British city of Oxford.
His Excellency pointed out the need to expedite finding a permanent solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. With the aim of saving the Palestinian people from the suffering of destitution, genocide, and the human tragedy they face daily. He stressed the importance of holding an urgent international conference that brings together international parties to reach executive agreements that ensure a quick and effective solution.
His Excellency said: "A solution to the Palestinian issue can and must be reached, but to achieve this, there must be a shift in thinking, as the efforts made to deal with the current crisis are still stuck in the past."
He added, "For more than thirty years, that is, since the fall of the Berlin Wall, many of us are still living with a Cold War mentality, speaking mainly with our friends, and refusing to speak on principle with people who they believe are enemies. This is a serious obstacle, and we see it today in the face of the horrific humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, there is a refusal to do the only thing that might open a path to peace. Hamas cannot be eliminated."
“Therefore, if peace is to be achieved one day, its makers will have to find a way to talk to them and listen to them as well. This will require a shift in thinking and the development of practical forms of diplomacy suitable for a multipolar world, as we all must talk to anyone for the good of everyone.”
His Excellency added, "We cannot marginalise the sectarian division in the region except by establishing the Palestinian state, and this just solution is a first step and a necessity in a longer process of change for the peoples of the region."
His Excellency explained, “A Palestinian state will allow us to see ourselves alongside an Israeli state, as people with complex social and cultural identities, rather than identities defined mostly on the basis of religious affiliations. In other words, we can return to the hopeful path of the Arab renaissance and Jerusalem can be one of its homelands.”
To achieve the two-state solution, His Excellency proposed the establishment of an urgent international conference charged with agreeing on the necessary arrangements for establishing a Palestinian state and developing mechanisms for its implementation. The conference must include the presence of all components of Palestinian society, including Hamas, and be held in the presence of the leaders of a group of countries that properly represent the global majority.
His Excellency the Minister of Foreign also pointed out the necessity of abolishing the veto power from the United Nations Security Council. Because voting at the present time is based on political calculations from five parties who have the authority to prevent the decision, even if it is unanimous. pointing to the importance of reforming international institutions based on managing international relations so that these institutions are appropriate to today’s events instead of focusing on finding solutions to yesterday’s problems.
"This process can be made now, by taking urgent collective action to establish a Palestinian state, and taking practical steps to ensure that the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the will of the international community are quickly achieved."
