Gargash: Gaza ceasefire an opportunity to change course

Dubai: Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, said the Gaza ceasefire that came into force earlier this month presents an important opening but the approach to one of the world’s most complex and intractable conflicts needs to change.

“This is definitely a moment of opportunity. I think the first thing to say, we see opportunity because we have a chance today to change course,” Gargash said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi.

“Some policies are no longer valid and should not be reincarnated, the maximalist views on the Palestinian issue are no longer valid, we have to address the issue that we have two contending nationalisms fighting on one piece of land and that land has to be divided,” Gargash said.

“Are we going to continue with this sort of maximalist views on how to address the Palestinian issue, for example, by the Israeli right, which has to understand that this is not going to go away,” added Gargash.

UAE Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh said during a panel at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit that the UAE normalised relations with Israel to foster tolerance and change mindsets in the region.

“We partnered with the Arab region, with the United States and with Israel using the Abraham Accords to help achieve this ceasefire in Gaza that was so desperately needed,” said Nusseibeh.

Gargash reiterated that Israeli annexation in the occupied West Bank would constitute a “red line” for the UAE.

At the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit, Dr Gargash reiterated the UAE’s support for a two-state solution as part of an Arab and international vision that “provides Israel with security, but also Palestinians with a viable state”.

He said the UAE played a crucial humanitarian role in Gaza, providing billions of dollars in aid and 100,000 tonnes of food and medical supplies. That assistance would not have been possible if the UAE did not previously establish relations with Israel, he added.

“The aid we provided is not only because the UAE is generous, it’s also because the UAE has been able to leverage its relations with Israel to use that access,” he said. “If we had no relationship with Israel, we wouldn’t have been able to bring 3,000 Palestinians and their families here.”