* Emir of Qatar calls for Palestinian state within 1967
borders
* Sheikh Hamad says Qatari backing for Arab Spring was
important
* With little democracy at home, Sheikh says reform must be
gradual
By Regan Doherty
DOHA, May 20 (Reuters) – Qatar’s emir, who has thrown his
state’s riches behind Arab uprisings, said on Monday that the
emergence of ‘people power’ had put Arabs in direct
confrontation with Israel and made a resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict more pressing.
“We heard in the past that reform (in the Arab world) must
wait until a peaceful settlement with Israel is achieved, but
everybody should realise that such belief is now unfounded after
the Arab Spring revolts,” Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani told
a conference in the Qatari capital.
“The reason is that the Arab Spring has today put Israel in
direct confrontation with the Arab people, not only with their
rulers. These people will no longer accept that negotiations are
the goal in themselves.”
He added: “Our region will not see peace unless we see a
resolution to the Palestinian issue.”
Sheikh Hamad’s call for the establishment of a Palestinian
state with Arab East Jerusalem as its capital was broadly in
line with a long-standing Saudi plan.
“Israel must not lose this important opportunity to seek
peace. Israel must withdraw to the ’67 borders, with an
independent state established with Jerusalem as its capital,”
Sheikh Hamad told the Doha Forum, attended by a number of
leaders including Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh.
He made no mention, however, of the Arab League’s acceptance
last month that Israelis and Palestinians may have to swap land
in any peace deal, to allow Jewish settlements in occupied
territory to become part of Israel.
That step has been praised by U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry, due in the region this week in a drive to revive peace
talks that have been frozen since 2010.
SUPPORTING THE ARAB SPRING
Qatar, a major Gulf gas producer and ally of the United
States, has used its wealth to back pro-democracy protests that
have toppled four Arab heads of state since 2011, and to support
the mainstream Islamist groups that have been catapulted to
power.
“We are not trying to show off our achievements in Qatar,
but what we did was something important,” Sheikh Hamad said.
Qatar has made no secret of the fact that it is arming
Syria’s rebels, although rebels and officials familiar with the
uprising say it has tightened the flow, in concert with the CIA,
to keep the weapons out of the hands of Islamist fighters linked
to al Qaeda.
Sheikh Hamad slammed what he called the world’s failure to
“make the Syrian regime listen to reason”, adding: “The
international community can no longer stand still as we watch
the Syrian crisis unfold.”
Yet despite its vigorous defence of people power across the
Arab world, Qatar has yet to empower its own 1.9 million people
in the same way.
It has no elected parliament or organised political
opposition and restricts freedom of expression, leading to
widespread self-censorship among local media.
In November, a Qatari court jailed a poet for life on
charges of criticising the emir and inciting revolt.
In his speech, the emir called for more dialogue and the
establishment of institutions that support gradual democratic
reforms, but sidestepped questions related to possible elections
in his country.
“The current situation is a critical one for the Arab world.
People are now calling for broad reforms, mainly participation
in public life. We need to listen to what others have to say to
establish dialogue, rather than foster violence,” he said.
“The concept of democracy means much more than casting
ballots. We need to instil change gradually through reform and
dialogue. Change that takes place too quickly and that does not
take into account the complex fabric of societies is dangerous.”
(Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Samia Nakhoul and Kevin
Liffey)
