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US should push for quick end to war in Gaza: UAE

A new process is needed to resolve the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian issue or Washington will be seen as ineffective, says Dr Gargash

Published: Sun 5 Nov 2023, 9:31 PM

Updated: Sun 5 Nov 2023, 9:32 PM

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  • Reuters

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People attend a demonstration demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to airstrikes and an end to 'forcible displacement of populations', amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Paris, France, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

People attend a demonstration demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to airstrikes and an end to 'forcible displacement of populations', amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Paris, France, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

The United States needs to push for a quick end to the Israel-Hamas war and a new process to resolve the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian issue or Washington will be seen as ineffective, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE President said on Saturday.

Dr Anwar Gargash also said that Israel's response to the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7 attack has been "disproportionate", while the two decade policy of containment of the Palestinian issue by Israel had failed.

Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip has angered Arab states who are concerned about sharply rising civilian casualties and Israel's blockade of the coastal Palestinian enclave that has limited humanitarian aid access.

"US involvement will be seen by when we end this war, the quicker the better, and whether we can have another ..., sort of process at problem solving, at issue solving," Dr Gargash said at a policy conference in Abu Dhabi.

"If this crisis continues, and especially the humanitarian side, and if this crisis, brings us back full circle, to the old containment policy of pre-Seventh of October, I think the American role here... is not going to be seen as effective," he added.

Dr Gargash, one of the UAE's most prominent foreign policy thinkers, also called for a return to an approach to the Israeli-Palestinian issue that addresses refugees, borders and East Jerusalem.

The Israel-Hamas war began when militants from the group broke through the border on October 7 and went on a rampage attacking Israeli communities.

Israel says they killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 hostages. Israel's ensuing bombardment of the small densely populated Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people has killed at least 9,488 people, including 3,900 children, Gaza health authorities say.

The UAE, concerned that the war could erupt into a wider regional conflict, has been pushing for a humanitarian ceasefire, which Dr Gargash said he hoped would be more realistic in achieving than a full ceasefire - rejected by Israel and its allies - and not be vetoed by "any of the participants".



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