Qatari Newspapers Editorials

Doha, March 04 (QNA) - In its editorials today, Qatari newspapers dealt with a number of local and Arab issues, foremost of which was the State of Qatar's hosting of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), which begins tomorrow, Sunday. The newspapers emphasized the importance of the timing of this conference in light of the challenges the world is witnessing, noting that the hopes pinned on it are broad to support the least developed countries around the world, build resilience to shocks and reduce dependence on aid. Regarding the Arab issue, the Palestinian issue remains dominant in the interests of the Qatari newspapers, as the newspapers criticized the silence of the international community and the lack of accountability and allowing Israel to escape punishment, calling for referring the entire file to the Security Council to implement the decisions issued on it. Under the title "Qatar, an international dialogue platform to support peoples", Al-Raya newspaper focused in its editorial published today on the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which is attended by heads of state and government during the period from 5 to 9 March. Al-Raya stressed that Qatar will become an international platform for dialogue to support the most needy peoples by building their capacities for resilience and development and reducing their dependence on aid. The newspaper said: The conference is of exceptional importance in its timing and agenda, as the international community had barely recovered from the (Covid-19) pandemic until the Russian-Ukrainian war came to cast a shadow on the movement of the global economy and affect the economies of all countries of the world, especially the least developed countries. The newspaper pointed out that the conference agenda is full of many sessions, public discussions and high-level meetings that discuss the opportunities and challenges of the least developed countries, as well as forums for civil society, youth and the private sector to discuss their vision and their role in facing these challenges. Al-Raya stressed that Qatar has proven to be a role model in supporting international humanitarian and development efforts through many strategic contributions and partnerships to support people, while the conference seeks to build the capacities of the least developed countries to withstand shocks and develop their capabilities so as to reduce dependence on foreign aid and increase their trade and investment capabilities. For its part, The Peninsula said in its editorial today titled " Decades long partnership", that on the sidelines of fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5), to start tomorrow, UN House will be inaugurated in Doha showing decades long close partnership and coordination between Qatar and the United Nations. The Peninsula added that the opening of the UN House will definitely add new dimensions to the relationship between the two sides and will consolidate Doha’s position at the international level, after Qatar became hub of global diplomacy and center of mediation for conflict resolution in recent years.

Regarding the Arab issue, Al Sharq newspaper asked in its editorial today about the escalatory policy of the Israeli government in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. The newspaper pointed out that the Israeli government of the extreme right-wing continues its escalatory policy in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, in all its forms, including killings, field executions, daily military incursions into towns and villages, terrorizing women, children and the elderly, intensive arrest campaigns, settlement expansion, displacement, house demolitions, helping settlers, and providing them with protection to attack the Palestinians. Al-Sharq said that the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities on the town of Hawara, south of the city of Nablus, is entering its seventh day in a row, as the town and its environs have turned into what looks like detention camps besieged by military checkpoints, iron gates, and barbed wire. The newspaper denounced the hateful and provocative call made by the Minister of Finance of the Israeli government to erase the Palestinian town of Hawara from existence, in an official incitement to commit new massacres against the citizens of the town. Al-Sharq warned that the Israeli call to erase the Palestinian town of Hawara constitutes a serious incitement to a war crime and a continuation of the escalatory policy in the occupied Palestinian territories, as it reveals the true intentions of the extreme right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu towards the Palestinians. In the same context, and under the title "War Crime", Al-Watan newspaper considered in its editorial today the visit of a delegation of European ambassadors and consuls to Palestinian towns in the northern West Bank that have been subjected to settler violence, as an important and advanced step, as is the case with the US State Department's strong condemnation of the Israeli Minister's call to erase the Palestinian town of Hawara. The newspaper believed that these moves are not sufficient, in comparison to the different Western reactions to any Palestinian attack targeting Israeli settlers, nor are they sufficient in comparison to the extent of its ability to form a position that would deter the occupation forces and settlers together. To conclude its editorial, the newspaper stressed that what is required is to refer the entire Palestinian issue to the Security Council to implement the resolutions issued in this regard. Otherwise, the Israeli crimes will continue in preparation for another big explosion. (QNA)