Arab world conflicts under spotlight at Doha summit

Politicians, analysts and diplomats from more than 50 countries gathered in Doha, Qatar’s capital, to discuss struggles of the Arab world and possible solutions. 

Chairman of Al Jazeera Media Network Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani launched the 10th Al Jazeera Forum “Regional and International Struggles in the Middle East” on Tuesday and said that “this region is affected by developments on the global arena.”

He added that talks “should help determine a clearer picture and a more comprehensive vision that answers many of the questions regarding how to end these crises”.

In a keynote speech, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the region’s instability – with conflict gripping several countries – could be traced back to six decades of Israeli occupation in Palestine.

He said there was an “absence of any real international efforts to put an end to such an occupation, despite Israel’s violation of the international resolutions, laws and practices”, as he called for a sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

Qatar’s foreign minister also laid blame on the international community for failing to stop five years of bloodshed in Syria before adding that a solution was urgently needed “to save Syria from fragmentation with its serious repercussions on the Syrian state, community and entire region”.

On the subject of rising Islamophobia across the world, with the religion being equated to “terrorism”, he said that this phenomenon would hurt international relations.

“Deep-rooted hatred towards Muslims and discrimination pose challenges for the entire world and threaten the stability of international relations” between Muslim-majority countries and others, the foreign minister said.

Hopes for Yemen

The conflict in Yemen, which began one year ago, was also discussed.

Saudi Arabia and its allies launched air attacks in March 2015 against the Houthi fighters which control large parts of Yemen.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said what began as a political dilemma in Yemen had been transformed into a sectarian conflict as a result of several variables, and that “interference” from countries such as Iran exacerbate the situation.

In his view, “the Arab alliance and the strength of the Yemeni people will cause the Houthi illusion to fade away” and he hoped similar intervention could help in the push for peace in other Arab nations, especially Syria.

In an interview with the AFP news agency, the foreign minister said that he was “99 percent sure” UN-brokered peace talks would take place in Kuwait by the end of this month.

The fighting in Yemen has killed almost 6,300 people, half of them civilians, since March 2015, according to the the World Health Organization.