The crisis caused by the blockade of Qatar kept the Gulf Cooperation Council occupied for 43 months. It had almost led to the disintegration of the council. It came to an end with a summit held on January 5 in Saudi Arabia. With this, the diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, on the one hand, and Qatar on the other were completely restored.
Qatar responded to Saudi Arabia’s desire to end the crisis after Riyadh dropped all thirteen conditions. Qatar, which since the beginning wanted Saudi Arabia to change its position, also agreed to drop legal cases for compensation amounting to five billion dollars. The crisis came to an end without significant gains for any of its parties. On the contrary, it inflicted severe economic and political damage to all and wasted about four years of the life of Gulf unity, which could have been utilised in the face of major economic and political challenges sweeping the region. In the next stage, those who caused the crisis will need to make more efforts to get rid of the consequences, restore confidence, and work to deal with the differences which are still lingering, particularly with countries which were not enthusiastic about reconciliation. It also needs agreement on appropriate and effective mechanisms to resolve disputes of the region, avoid repetition of such crisis, and decide a Gulf pact to prohibit any use of force, boycott or blockade while resolving intra-Gulf disputes.
(Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies)
Palestine in 2021
Several developments are expected in Palestine this year. The process of peaceful resolution may begin but the normalisation (between Israel and some Muslim and Arab countries) may also not stop. Netanyahu may bid farewell to the premiership (of Israel). But the right-wing forces will increase their influence and impact. There will be an attempt to absorb the forces of resistance under the roof of Oslo accord, and the Palestine issue will remain vexed. Also, there will be scramble of efforts on the one hand for the resolution of the issue and to start a new intifada on the other.
Hamas has abandoned most of its objections and most of the power cards it played to strengthen the Palestinian position in the face of annexation projects, Judaization, Zionism and normalisation. Now the door is open to hold elections for the Legislative Council of the Palestinian Authority. If the Fatah and its allies won the election, it would end the legislative “legitimacy” of Hamas. This will lead to Hamas handing over the Gaza Strip to the new elected authority, restoring the spirit and life of the Fatah movement and the leadership of the authority and the PLO. Hamas and other resistance forces will be accommodated in the authority and the organisation as a “minority” which will respect the opinion of the majority. But the filth laid under the carpet will resurface.
(by Mohsin Mohammad Saleh in TRT Arabi)
Compiled and Translated by FAIZUL HAQUE