Qatar emir presses for two-state solution in meeting with Kushner

Qatar emir presses for two-state solution in meeting with Kushner
Qatar remains committed to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, under which Palestinians must be granted a state in return for normalisation.
2 min read
02 September, 2020
Sheikh Tamim met Kushner at the Doha al-Bahr Palace [Getty]
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Wednesday reiterated Doha's support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian issue, during a meeting in Doha with White House adviser Jared Kushner.

Sheikh Tamim met Kushner - son-in-law of US President Donald Trump - at Doha's Al-Bahr Palace, while the adviser was in the region as part of a controversial normalisation deal between the UAE and Israel.

The Qatari emir affirmed his country's position, calling for a "just settlement" to the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution, according to the country's official news agency.

The two also discussed Qatar-US relations and common interests in the region.

The UAE is the first Gulf state and only the third Arab country to reach a normalisation agreement with Israel, which was announced on 13 August.

An Israeli-American delegation flew to Abu Dhabi this week on the first commercial flight between Israel and the UAE, for more normalisation talks and business deals.

Israel hopes to reach similar agreements with other Arab nations in the coming months.

Sheikh Tamim told Kushner that Qatar remains committed to the 2002 Arab agreement.

It states that normalisation with Israel would be accepted if a Palestinian state in established and Israeli forces withdraw from territories captured in the 1967 war.