Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Mansour arrive in Manama for 33rd Arab Summit

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, accompanied by His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Presidential Court, arrived in Manama to participate in the third Arab Summit.
His Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain and Prime Minister, received the UAE delegation.
Arab leaders are gathering on Thursday in Bahrain for a summit dominated by the Israel-Hamas war which has been raging in the Gaza Strip without a ceasefire in sight.
Heads of state and government began touching down on Wednesday in Manama, capital of the Gulf nation, where the flags of the Arab League’s 22 members were flying.
It is the first time the bloc has come together since an extraordinary summit in Riyadh, capital of neighbouring Saudi Arabia, in November that also involved leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, based in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
At that meeting, leaders condemned Israeli forces’ “barbaric” actions in Gaza but declined to approve punitive economic and political steps against the country, despite growing anger in the region and widespread support for the Palestinian cause.
That could change this time around as backing builds globally for a two-state solution long advocated by Arab countries, said Kuwaiti analyst Zafer Al-Ajmi.
Western public opinion has become “more inclined to support the Palestinians and lift the injustice inflicted on them” since Israel’s creation more than 70 years ago, Ajmi said.