The Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani proposed in his Sept. 23 address to the UN General Assembly that the leading issue for discussion by international institutions should be how to restore a collective security system which adheres to the principles of the UN Charter.
The United Nations was founded 80 years ago on universal principles adopted by humanity after two world wars, that international peace and security must be maintained, human dignity and states’ sovereignty respected, and “international cooperation for the welfare of our peoples and humanity at large” fostered, he said. But if these principles are replaced by “the logic of power,” the way will be paved “for the law of the jungle to prevail.”
He spoke of Israel’s Sept. 9 missile strike on a meeting of the Hamas negotiating delegation being held in a residential neighborhood in Doha, Qatar’s capital. The Israelis “negotiate with delegations while plotting to assassinate their members. It is extremely difficult to deal with this mindset, which does not respect the most basic principles of human interaction. To expect predictable behavior from such actors is almost impossible. Isn’t this the definition of a rogue government?”
Al Thani warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war to destroy Gaza and create “the so-called Greater Land of Israel … to expand settlements and alter the status quo at the Al-Haram al-Sharif, and he also has annexation plans in the West Bank.”
