Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said on Thursday that only an agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis could deliver lasting peace.
And Prince Faisal praised the Abraham Accord signed by the UAE and Israel for suspending the latter's annexation of large parts of the West Bank and Jordan Valley.
The minister, who is in Washington for the US-Saudi strategic dialogue, spoke candidly about prospects of normalisation between his country and Israel.
“We have always envisioned that normalisation would happen, but we also need to have a Palestinian state and a Palestinian-Israeli peace plan,” Prince Faisal said at an online event hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“We believe that the focus now needs to be on getting the Palestinians and the Israelis back to the negotiating table.
"In the end, the only thing that can deliver lasting peace and lasting stability is an agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis.”
Without that, he feared a “festering wound” would continue to inhibit regional peace.
On Wednesday, standing alongside Prince Faisal, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel.
At the online event, the Saudi royal commended the UAE and Bahrain's announcements of normalisation in September, which he said put annexation "off the table".
“Annexation was a significant threat for peace," he said.
Prince Faisal also said the maximum pressure campaign waged by the US administration on Iran was working, describing Tehran’s influence as “contained and constrained".
“The maximum pressure campaign, while it hasn’t shown a final result, it is working," he said.
"The regime in Iran is less capable of supporting its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, and it is certainly showing the pressure domestically."
He urged Iran to return to the negotiating table.
“Our hope is that Iran will sit with the global community led by the US,” Prince Faisal said.
He said any future nuclear deal with Iran would include limits to Tehran's regional behaviour and its ballistic missile programme.
Otherwise it would be similar to that signed by Iran and world powers in 2015, before US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from it in 2018.
“The path of peace is open. It is up to them [Iran] to take it,” Prince Faisal said.
Mr Pompeo on Wednesday said the US was committed to boosting arms sales to Riyadh to deter Iran.
“The United States supports a robust programme of arms sales to Saudi Arabia, a line of effort that helps the kingdom protect its citizens and sustains American jobs," he said.
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
Results
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RIDE%20ON
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More on animal trafficking
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Ireland v Denmark: The last two years
Denmark 1-1 Ireland
7/06/19, Euro 2020 qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
19/11/2018, Nations League
Ireland 0-0 Denmark
13/10/2018, Nations League
Ireland 1 Denmark 5
14/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
11/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Griselda
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