Arab nations near consensus on two-state solution at Bahrain Summit

The Kingdom of Bahrain, for the first time in its history, will host the 33rd Arab Summit on May 16, 2024. This is the first summit to be held since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, igniting the subsequent war in Gaza.

An official source in the Arab League outlined the plan for the conference in a statement to The Media Line: “The summit will discuss the course of events in Gaza and also will consider a re-presentation of the Arab initiative that was put forward in 2002, which stipulates that the Arab countries recognize Israel in exchange for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the borders of June 7, 1967.” 

Current events in the Red Sea, the threat to navigation in the Arabian Gulf, the border problems between Djibouti and Eritrea, the bloody conflict in Sudan, and several other Arab countries will also be on the agenda.

Regarding Gaza, the Arab League source explained, “A timetable will be proposed for a cease-fire in Gaza, and the handover of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, away from Hamas, since it was the one that led Gaza into a dark tunnel. There will also be an initiative to reconstruct the Gaza Strip, Rafah, and other areas affected by the ongoing war there. More than 65% of Gaza has sustained damage as a result of the recent war.”

According to the same source, those who have confirmed their attendance include Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Syrian President Bashar Assad—notably the second Arab summit he has attended, following the Jeddah summit last year.

It is possible that Kuwait’s Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah will not attend the summit due to current events and recent decisions in Kuwait. Still, no official response has been reported as of this writing.

A representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a guest of honor, as the previous summit hosted the Ukrainian president, who addressed the gathering about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

On Monday, Bahrain’s king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, presiding at his government’s cabinet session before the summit, stated that “the development of events in the Gaza Strip confirms the urgent need for an intensive diplomatic effort among all regional and international parties toward peace for all, and toward the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.” He underlined the importance of reducing tensions in the Middle East, avoiding military escalation, and strengthening Arab and international cooperation to find just, comprehensive, and sustainable peaceful solutions to regional conflicts.

Nabil Al-Hamar, adviser to the king of Bahrain for media affairs, told media outlets Monday night, “We hope that this summit will achieve the desired results that the Arabs are waiting for.”

Taha Abdul Qader, the Palestinian ambassador to Bahrain, alerted the media to a financial request: “We hope that the summit will issue executive decisions on the previous Arab initiative to increase the support provided to the Palestinian Authority by $100 million per month to fill the deficit in the Palestinian state’s budget resulting from Israel’s stopping of import duties.”

Many astute political observers are on hand to document and analyze this major diplomatic event. 

A Kuwaiti political analyst, Dr. Ayed Al-Manna, told The Media Line of his conviction that “The upcoming Arab summit will witness the largest Arab consensus in history on various issues. There is agreement on how to resolve the conflict in Palestine and the current events in Gaza; there is also agreement among Arab leaders on the need to stop the conflict in Sudan and to reduce the escalation between Israel and Iran.”

Walid Al-Ghandour, an Egyptian journalist, highlighted the situation in Sudan.  “There will be an initiative to stop the fire in Sudan. The situation has become completely out of control.”

Palestinian question central to the conference

Others declared that the Palestinian question would be central to the conference. Mohammad Rashid, a Saudi journalist, told The Media Line, “There is almost an Arab consensus that the time has come to find a radical solution to the conflict in Palestine, in accordance with the two-state proposal.” He expects the Arab countries to pressure the United States and Israel to implement this solution as quickly as possible.

“This summit,” Rashid declared, “will produce decisive decisions on the issue of establishing a Palestinian state in accordance with United Nations resolutions, especially the recent one in which 143 countries voted in favor of granting Palestine full membership in the United Nations.”

But also, he added, “There is an Arab consensus that there is no place for Hamas in subsequent Palestinian decisions. Hamas’ role will end after the first day of the cease-fire, and it will not participate in any governance in the Palestinian National Authority or elsewhere.”