Headline News 18/09/2020

Headlines:

• President Donald J. Trump is Promoting Peace and Stability in the Middle East

'Palestinians Consider Pakistan Our Second Homeland': Embassy Thanks PM Imran for 'Strong Response' on 'Israel'

China Threatens U.S. Over Taiwan Visit

Details:

President Donald J. Trump is Promoting Peace and Stability in the Middle East

President Trump presided over the signing ceremony at the White House to establish the foundation of the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). Bahrain also accepted the President’s invitation to participate in the ceremony, following their agreement with Israel last week. In August, the President secured an agreement to normalize relations between the U.A.E. and Israel – the first such agreement between Israel and a major Arab country since 1994. The countries have committed to the exchange of embassies and ambassadors, and to begin cooperation across a broad range of fields including education, healthcare, trade, and security. This deal is only the beginning of normalized relations between Israel and its neighbors, with many more likely to come. The deal between Israel and the U.A.E. will strengthen peace in the region by giving Muslims increased access to the Al Aqsa Mosque for peaceful prayer. This will counter the extremists who use the false narrative that the Al Aqsa Mosque is under attack and that Muslims cannot pray at this holy site. The Israel-Bahrain agreement further enhances the security of both nations while creating opportunities for them to deepen their economic ties. Both agreements are a result of President Trump’s efforts to rebuild trust with our regional partners and move them away from conflicts of the past. Thanks to the President’s bold foreign policy vision and his deal-making ability, nations across the region are realizing the benefits of his thoughtful approach. President Trump has fully rejected the failed foreign policy approaches of the past that helped stoke division and did nothing to prevent conflict in the Middle East. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the nations across the Middle East and Africa are increasingly working together to build a more peaceful and prosperous future. Normalized relations will accelerate growth and economic opportunity across the region by expanding business and financial ties. The agreements with Bahrain and the U.A.E. will help to advance President Trump’s vision for finding a fair and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States will continue to stand with the people of the region as they work to build a brighter, more hopeful future. [Source: The White House].

Once again the rulers of the Muslim world have leapt to the defense of a US President. The UAE and Bahrain signed peace with the Jewish state at the behest of the Trump administration trouncing on previous US commitments, so that Trump could get reelected.  As long the current rulers of the Muslim world continue their subservience to Western powers the Muslim Ummah will remain divided and humiliated.  The only salvation for the Ummah is to re-establish the Khilafah Rashidah, (rightly guided Caliphate) which will permanently end foreign interference in the Muslim world and liberate all occupied Islamic lands.

'Palestinians Consider Pakistan Our Second Homeland': Embassy Thanks PM Imran for 'Strong Response' on 'Israel'

The State of Palestine on Wednesday thanked the premier for his "strong response" on Israel, besides expressing gratitude to the government for extending support to the Palestinian cause. A statement issued by the Palestine embassy in Islamabad also thanked the government for condemning Israeli aggression towards Palestine. "Palestinians consider Pakistan as our second homeland and Pakistanis as our dearest brothers, who always supported Palestine on every forum of the world," it said. The press release comes a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan categorically said that Pakistan could not recognise Israel as a state unless it gave freedom to Palestine. In a two-hour late-night interview aired on Dunya TV, the prime minister stated: “Quaid-i-Azam had said in 1948 that Pakistan could not recognise Israel unless it gave freedom to Palestinians.  “If we recognise Israel and ignore [the] tyranny faced by Palestinians, we will have to give up [the cause of] Kashmir as well, and this we cannot do.” In the context of the United Arab Emirates, which has recently established ties with Israel, the prime minister said every state had its own foreign policy. In a statement issued today, the Palestine embassy noted that the Pakistani government had always supported their cause. "The embassy heartily appreciates the stance of [PM Imran] when answering to a question about Israel." It is only because of the love of Pakistanis towards Palestine that Israeli and Pakistani relations have never been established, it added. "The embassy thanks the prime minister for such a strong response and also appreciates every individual of Pakistan, including political parties, media, and civil society, who is observing solidarity with Palestine in any possible way. We are hopeful that this support will be with us until we get an independent State of Palestine with Jerusalem Al-Quds as its capital," the statement concluded. [Source: Dawn]

The people of Palestine do not need false assurances. They need liberation from tyranny just like the people of Kashmir and Uyghur Muslims in China. Pakistan possesses more than enough capability to achieve this but remains hostage to an inept leadership.

China Threatens U.S. Over Taiwan Visit

China issued thinly veiled threats against Taiwan and the U.S. ahead of what it considers a provocative visit to Taipei by an American undersecretary of state to discuss new arms sales. "Once the People's Liberation Army dispatches troops to reunify the island of Taiwan, the military equipment from the U.S. will be nothing but decorations," China's Global Times wrote in an early morning article. It also made references to America's "throwing stones" into the contentious Taiwan Strait, the site of increased militarization in recent months, adding, "once they go too far, the stones may become torpedoes, increasing the uncertainties in the entire region, as well as the risks of drastic changes in the Taiwan Straits." The news outlet is not considered a direct mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party but is aligned with its views. China has broadly condemned the visit, which it sees as a violation of the fragile "One China" agreement that has governed international relations with Taiwan for decades and a threat to Beijing's legitimacy. The Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan a renegade province, and only a dwindling number of small countries recognize it as a sovereign state. However, it's played a growing part in the Trump administration's new attempts to ramp up pressure on China amid what it considers Beijing's expansionism. Pentagon officials now refer to the island as "Fortress Taiwan" amid a new push to prepare it for a potential military incursion with Chinese forces. China has escalated military activity in the region, including sailing ships and flying warplanes near Taiwan's territory. Two military aircraft approached Taiwanese territory Wednesday in what appeared to be a warning in advance of Undersecretary of State Keith Krach's arrival. [Source: USA News]

China needs to move beyond words and must take decisive action to push the US out of the region if Beijing wants to survive. Taking back Taiwan is the right step in demonstrating Chinese primacy in the region and it will end the US presence in the Asian Pacific.