MANAMA: By Mahmood Rafique Editor :An overwhelming majority of delegates attending the Manama Dialogue Security Summit 2019, which opens in Bahrain, on Friday rejected the United States’ reversal of policy on Israeli settlements saying this would further aggravate the fragile Middle East process.
Amr Moussa, former Secretary General of the Arab League, said that there was no ‘Middle East Process’ in place following the US policy shift on Israeli Settlements built on Palestinian land after the occupation in 1967 war.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement on Monday that the United States has reversed a four-decade-old State Department legal opinion that regarded Israeli settlements in the West Bank as contravening international law, has been rejected by the global community.
“There is no Middle East peace process in place and that is US problem what they think about the outstanding dispute between Palestinians and Israelis as you just can’t through away the rights of people with one statement on settlements,” Amr Moussa said, adding that the basic issues are there as an outstanding dispute i.e. security, stability and two state solution in accordance with the international law.
“The British government’s stance on the settlements by Israel are illegal as built on the occupied land and we still believe in two state solution and we view settlements will make this peace process even more difficult,” Honorable Alistair Burt, on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue 2019 Security Summit, which is being held in Manama from November 22 to 24th, told The24X7News Bahrain (www.twentyfoursevennews.com).
“The British Government is in touch with the EU over the US policy shift and working with other countries to come up with united stance on Israeli settlements which are in breach of the international law,” he said.
Mr Burt sees the future of the peace talks between Palestine and Israel very gloomy, adding that it is very difficult to see any proposal comes through with such a credibility of US as honest broker of peace in the Middle East. But, he adds, who knows as so many times in the past the President of US surprised us many times, and we awaiting how the international community handles this situation.
Mr Burt will be speaking during a session at the IISS Manama Dialogue 2019 tilted “Regional Security, greater responsibilities of regional security amongst the States in this region, and considering the influence of the outside powers.”
