DUBAI: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on Monday presented Indonesia’s defense minister, Prabowo Subianto, with the Order of Zayed, the UAE’s highest civil honor, in recognition of his contribution to the enhancement of cooperation between the countries.

During the meeting in Abu Dhabi, Subianto conveyed greetings from Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and expressed his desire for the continued advancement and prosperity of the UAE, the Emirates News Agency reported. Sheikh Mohammed responded with similar wishes for Indonesia.

The president and defense minister also discussed the relationship between their countries, particularly as it relates to defense and military affairs, and ways in which it might be enhanced in the interests of both countries, and reviewed regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Sheikh Mohammed said he was keen to leverage the strong strategic ties between the UAE and Indonesia to deepen cooperation so that both nations benefit from shared opportunities for development and prosperity.
 

WASHINGTON DC: The United States does not believe that genocide is occurring in Gaza but Israel must do more to protect Palestinian civilians, President Joe Biden’s top national security official said Monday.
As ceasefire talks stall and Israel continued striking the southern city of Rafah, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan insisted that the responsibility for peace lay with militant group Hamas.
“We believe Israel can and must do more to ensure the protection and wellbeing of innocent civilians. We do not believe what is happening in Gaza is a genocide,” Sullivan told a briefing.
The US was “using the internationally accepted term for genocide, which includes a focus on intent” to reach this assessment, Sullivan added.
Biden wanted to see Hamas defeated but realized that Palestinian civilians were in “hell,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he was coming to the White House podium to “take a step back” and set out the Biden administration’s position on the conflict, amid criticism from both ends of the US political spectrum.
Biden has come under fire from Republicans for halting some weapons shipments to press his demands that Israel hold off a Rafah offensive, while there have been protests at US universities against his support for Israel.
The US president believed any Rafah operation “has got to be connected to a strategic endgame that also answered the question, ‘what comes next?’” Sullivan added.
This would avoid Israel “getting mired in a counterinsurgency campaign that never ends, and ultimately saps Israel’s strength and vitality.”