"Collective action needed to end Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine"

During a remarkable press conference of Arab and Muslim Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the United Nations on 29 September 2024 Israel was offered recognition as part of the two-state solution that both the European Union and the U.S. formally support. If Israel chooses war instead of this solution, these Ministers have promised that Israel will get what it seeks: war. During his visit of 30 September 2024 to Iran, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin?agreed large-scale intensification of the Iranian/Russian relationship, including security. Media simultaneously reported the Russian delivery of 33 tons of humanitarian aid to Lebanon. The Russian-Iranian talks included the preparations of the upcoming BRICS meeting in Tatarstan on 22-24 October 2024. At this forum energy security will be among the topics on the agenda. If, in the meantime, with apparent U.S. support, oil production facilities in Iran will be attacked by Israel, it is clear that this increasingly relevant and strong group of countries headed by China and Russia will take steps against Israel. It must be expected that the Global South will by and large support expected BRICS decisions.

While President Joe Biden has refused to allow Ukraine to use Atacms (long-range missiles) against targets deep in Russia, the U.S. supports such attacks by Israel on Iran. This difference in American respect for the power of Iran versus the power of Russia will not go unnoticed by the majority of UN Member States and indeed by Member States of the European Union. The Israeli decision to ban UN Secretary General António Guterres from visiting Israel, contributes to a rather historic confrontation between Israel and the U.S. at the one hand and virtually all other UN Member States at the other hand – with, apparently, the EU somewhere in between.

The Sultanate of Oman, traditionally strictly neutral with a foreign policy based on the adagio ‘enemy of none, friend of all’, today (4 October 2024) uniquely abandoned this position with the following statement:

Oman’s Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi,?has published a commentary on the current regional situation. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said the only way to restore peace to the region was to end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. He said anyone who believes that peace can be achieved by any other means is “either deluded, na?ve or deliberately trying to avoid the truth.” The Minister said: “It is easy for certain governments to stand by and condemn Iranian actions. But that solves nothing.“ Nor does the familiar policy of defending Israel come what may. Instead we have to address the real cause of the present crisis.”Sayyid Badr said peace could not be achieved by containing Iran, eliminating Hamas, defeating Hezbollah or by steadfast political, military and financial support for Israel. He said only sovereign statehood for Palestine could guarantee the Palestinian people the security and stability that many western governments had failed to provide. “Supporters of Israel speak in the name of international law while they repeatedly prevent its implementation in the case of Palestine. This must change now,” he said. The Minister called on the international community to insist Israel suspends its military operations in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. He said that should by followed by collective action to end Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine.