Qatar refuses to head Arab League instead of Palestine

Qatar announced in a statement on Thursday evening: “We apologise for completing the aforementioned session, which the State of Palestine abandoned, while adhering to the right of the State of Qatar to the next presidency of the 155th session of March 2021.”

Qatar was selected alphabetically and in accordance with Article VI of the rules of procedure of the league council, which states: “If the president of the council at the ministerial level is unable to assume the position, the temporary presidency is assigned to the delegate of the country that will head the next session.”

The State of Palestine decided last Tuesday to abandon its right to chair the Council of the Arab League for the current session, in response to the wave of normalisation with the Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki confirmed that this decision came after the league’s general secretariat took a supportive stance of the Emirati and Bahraini normalisation with Israel, in a clear contravention of the Arab Peace Initiative.