Middle East
EU and US pile on pressure for Gaza ceasefire
In a first, EU leaders have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, while a US draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza linked to the release of all prisoners will be put to a vote in the UN Security Council today. Arab ministers met in Cairo with US Secretary of State Blinken, who is on a tour of the Middle East, to discuss the need for a ceasefire in Gaza, followed by a period of concrete action towards a two-state political solution. Blinken reportedly urged Qatar to threaten to expel Hamas from Doha if it did not agree to a prisoner exchange.
European Union (EU) leaders ended five months of deep divisions at the Middle East session of their summit in Brussels, adopting a joint statement on Gaza.
“The European Council calls for an immediate ‘humanitarian pause’ to allow for a durable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all prisoners and the delivery of humanitarian aid,” the statement said, expressing dismay at the unprecedented civilian casualties and critical humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“The European Council is deeply concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and its disproportionate impact on the civilian population, in particular children, and the risk of imminent famine,” it said.
It stressed that full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza by all routes is essential for the large-scale delivery of life-saving assistance and essential services to the civilian population. “Urgent measures must be taken to prevent further population displacement and to provide safe shelter for the population to ensure that civilians are protected at all times,” the statement said.
Call to refrain from attacks on Rafah
The statement called on Israel to refrain from ground attacks that would worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Rafah and prevent the delivery of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid.
Stressing the importance of respecting and implementing the legally binding decision of the International Court of Justice of 26 January, the statement said that violations of international humanitarian law must be thoroughly and independently investigated and accountability ensured.
The statement noted the vital role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
West Bank and East Jerusalem
“The EU calls for an immediate end to violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and for safe access to holy sites. The European Council strongly condemns the violence perpetrated by extremist settlers”.
It condemned Israel’s decision to further expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and called for this decision to be reversed.
On the other hand, Arab ministers conveyed their views on the ceasefire and political solution in Gaza to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Egypt as part of his Middle East tour.
According to a written statement issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Blinken met in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Samih Shukri, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdurrahman, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safedi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for International Cooperation Affairs Rim al-Hashemi, and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh.
During the meeting, the crisis in Gaza and efforts to reach a ceasefire were discussed, and the rejection of attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue or force the Palestinians to emigrate and the attack on Rafah were stressed. They also stressed the inevitability of a two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Arab ministers told Blinken that a ceasefire must be achieved in Gaza, followed by a phase of concrete actions aimed at a political solution through the two-state formula.
The meeting agreed to convene an urgent meeting of experts from the participating countries in the coming days to identify concrete and coordinated steps to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On the other hand, according to CNN, US officials said that Blinken sent a message to Hamas that it risked being expelled from Doha, where its senior members are based, unless it agreed to a hostage swap and a ceasefire deal to end the conflict in Gaza.
The message was delivered by Blinken to Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani at a meeting in Washington on 5 March, officials said.
US officials said Qatar, which has played a mediating role with Washington in efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement, “understood the message and showed no major reaction”.
It was not known whether Qatari officials had relayed the warning to Hamas leaders.
The US, Qatar and Egypt are mediating a prisoner swap and ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
US draft resolution to be voted on at UNSC
The UN Security Council (UNSC) is scheduled to vote today on a draft resolution that the US has been negotiating for some time.
The draft resolution, seen by AA, condemns all forms of terrorism and commends the initiatives taken by Egypt and Qatar.
Noting the importance of turning the ceasefire into a sustainable one, the draft resolution states that “Hamas and other terrorist and extremist groups do not represent the Palestinian people” and that Hamas “has been declared a terrorist organisation by some member states”.
Stressing that Gaza is part of the territories occupied in 1967, the draft resolution supports a two-state solution.
“It is important to achieve an immediate and durable ceasefire in order to protect civilians on all sides, to provide necessary humanitarian assistance, to alleviate suffering and to ensure that this ceasefire is accompanied by the release of all remaining prisoners,” the draft resolution says.
Noting that the ceasefire should be seen as an opportunity to create conditions for a more sustainable cessation of hostilities, the draft resolution calls for intensified diplomatic efforts in this direction.
The draft resolution calls on all parties to abide by international law and humanitarian law, and calls for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and the provision of humanitarian access.
The draft resolution opposes the forcible transfer of civilians in Gaza, stating that this would violate international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Elected members of the UN Security Council also prepare draft resolution
The 10 elected members of the UN Security Council are also preparing a draft resolution on the situation in Gaza.
The text, known as the “E-10” draft resolution, calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan. The draft resolution, which calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners, also calls for the distribution of humanitarian aid should be increased and obstacles removed.
On the other hand, France, which has been convening the UN Security Council for two weeks in a closed session on Gaza, is also preparing a draft resolution.
It is said that the French draft resolution will focus on a permanent ceasefire.
Negotiations continue in Doha
Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea will travel today to Qatar, where negotiations on a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel are continuing.
According to a statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Press Office, the Israeli delegation led by Barnea, who was authorised to travel to Doha by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, will meet with CIA Director William (Bill) Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamil to discuss the release of prisoners.
It is noteworthy that the visit coincides with the arrival of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Israel tomorrow after his visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The Israeli delegation led by Barnea went to Doha, the capital of Qatar, on 18 March for a new round of negotiations on the release of the prisoners.
The Israeli press announced that the prisoner exchange negotiations between Hamas and Tel Aviv officially started with the arrival of the Israeli delegation led by the head of Mossad in Doha.
The Israeli delegation was said to include Nitzan Alon, who was abducted by the Israeli army and was in charge of the missing persons file.
The news on Israel’s Channel 12 television said that the negotiations could last for about two weeks.
The Israeli press reported that Mossad chief Barnea, who headed the Tel Aviv delegation, returned to his country on 19 March and met with the government and war cabinet the following day.
The UAE model prohibits the domestic production of enriched uranium needed for nuclear facilities while permitting its import.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the US could allow Iran to operate civilian nuclear reactors but opposed its enrichment of its own uranium, ahead of the third round of indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran this weekend.
Appearing on a podcast program published in The Free Press, Rubio said that Iran, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and some other countries, could import low-enriched uranium for civilian purposes.
Rubio stated, “If Iran wants a civilian nuclear program, they can do it like many other countries; that is, they import enriched uranium. If they really want this, there is a path to a peaceful, civilian nuclear program. But if they insist on enriching uranium, they would be the only country without a nuclear weapons program that enriches uranium, which creates a problem.”
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), this proposal represents a significant step back from the demand for “complete termination of the nuclear program” voiced last month by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. According to Rubio’s statements, Iran would be able to continue operating its nuclear reactors, but the path to nuclear weapons production would be blocked by the prohibition on uranium enrichment.
This proposal could also put the US at odds with Israel, which insists on the “Libya model” that envisions the complete termination of Iran’s nuclear program.
Although the US proposal grants Iran the right to a “civilian nuclear program,” it also foresees Iran becoming dependent on external sources for nuclear fuel. This could mean a political and strategic step back for Tehran.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected this proposal during talks in Rome, explicitly stating that they did not accept the “UAE model.” The UAE imports uranium instead of enriching it domestically to provide assurance that its nuclear program will remain civilian.
According to Seyyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian official and nuclear policy expert at Princeton University, Tehran was ready to accept importing enriched uranium in the 1980s and early 1990s if the US allowed European countries to provide the fuel, but Washington rejected this offer.
Richard Nephew, who served as a negotiator in the Obama and Biden administrations, said that similar ideas were discussed during the process leading to the 2015 agreement, but Iran always maintained its desire to produce its own fuel and did not trust imports. Nephew told the WSJ, “Joint ventures and international nuclear fuel supply issues have been discussed for decades. But the issue always comes back to the same point: Iran does not trust that the fuel will be provided to them on time.”
According to Gary Samore, head of the Middle East Studies Center at Brandeis University, it is highly unlikely that Iran will completely abandon its uranium enrichment program. In this case, he argued, the Trump administration would either have to accept limited enrichment under strict inspection mechanisms or consider the military option.
Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran had agreed to limit its uranium enrichment rate to 3.67% until 2031. However, after the US withdrew from this agreement in 2018, encouraged by Israel, it is stated that Iran is currently enriching uranium up to 60%. Uranium used in weapons needs to be enriched to at least 90%.
Iran is currently reported to possess enough highly enriched uranium to produce at least six nuclear bombs.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned against renewed attempts to return NATO military infrastructure to Afghanistan, saying such actions could become a dangerous source of future conflict.
According to Russian media, Lavrov in a press conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan said that Western countries have launched a new format of consultations in Doha through the United Nations.
“The attempt to return the military infrastructure of NATO countries to Afghanistan under various pretexts is unacceptable, and such efforts are underway,” he added.
“We are witnessing the West actively trying to re-enter the Afghanistan game, a game it left after the Taliban returned. We have no problem with this, but the West presence should be fair and without hidden agendas,” Lavrov added.
He said that these efforts will create a new “time bomb,” and perhaps not even a “slow bomb”, he added.
He has said that Moscow is closely monitoring Western efforts to “influence Central Asia and other strategic regions.”
Lavrov furthered, “We are resolutely opposed to the politicization of cooperation and the imposition of ideological programs, especially the attempts of some Western countries to dominate this and other geopolitical spaces.”
This comes when the Taliban Foreign Ministry also said that Russia has agreed to accept Taliban’s diplomat at the ambassadorial level.
A new ceasefire proposal for Gaza, presented by Egypt and Qatar, envisions Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza and the official end of the war. Hamas has indicated its readiness to hand over control.
According to a BBC report, citing a senior Palestinian official, Egypt and Qatar, who are mediating between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, have put forward a new proposal that includes a long-term ceasefire and Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza.
The report states that the proposal encompasses a ceasefire lasting five to seven years, the official termination of the war, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, and “the exchange of all Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
According to the Palestinian official, Hamas has expressed willingness to transfer the administration of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority or a newly established Palestinian entity. The official described Hamas as showing “unprecedented flexibility.”
The British broadcaster reported that Israel has not yet commented on this plan and that a high-level Hamas delegation will travel to Cairo for consultations. The report indicates that the delegation will include the head of the Hamas Leadership Council, Mohammed Darwish, and the organization’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya.
The Qatar-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed also reported that an Israeli delegation traveled to Cairo on Sunday evening to discuss the new proposal presented by the mediators.
Last week, Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that had been conveyed to them but stated that they were open to discussing proposals that included an end to the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also declared over the weekend that he would not end the war until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are returned.
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