Bahrain reiterates call for international peace conference

By Habib Toumi

MANAMA: Bahrain has reiterated its call to hold an expanded and urgent international conference to revive hope in achieving peace.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa renewed the call as he addressed the bi-cameral parliament convening at the start of its new session.

On May 16, King Hamad, chairing the 33rd Arab Summit in Bahrain, called for “an international conference for peace in the Middle East, in tandem with supporting full recognition of the State of Palestine and the acceptance of its membership in the United Nations.”

The king said that the call was one of a series of initiatives to contribute to serving core issues essential to the stability and development of the region.

A consensus on endorsing peace as a strategic, indispensable choice to maintain the progress of humanity towards a brighter future was a necessity, he added.

“We have repeatedly stressed the need for an immediate cessation of the war in the Gaza Strip, and the resumption of all diplomatic efforts to adopt peaceful solutions,” King Hamad said in his address to the 80 parliamentarians from the upper and lower chambers, as well as senior public officials and officers, heads of NGOs, diplomats and the media.

“These will lead to the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, in accordance with the historic decisions and initiatives that must be fulfilled.”

He stressed that “disengagement has become an urgent necessity, after the fires of the ongoing war have reached the lands of Lebanon,” and that “the parties to the conflict must be aware of the danger of being dragged into a comprehensive war with dire consequences.”

King Hamad said that “amid the challenging regional circumstances, society in Bahrain remains cohesive and maintains a high sense of responsible national awareness, two features that make it more determined to boost its national safety and to be stronger and more resilient no matter how severe the lurking dangers are.”

He added that there was deep confidence in the aptitudes of the parliament to enact and enhance the laws that reinforce unity and justice and boost development and achievements, he added.