The Middle East is teetering on the precipice of a regional war, the UK's ambassador to Saudi Arabia has warned, with the fighting in Gaza resonating far beyond its borders.
Prince Khalid bin Bandar al Saud has warned that the blossoming conflicts in the area are spilling over to an extent not seen in more than 50 years. The ongoing Israeli ground assault in Gaza and its hostilities with neighbouring Syria and Lebanon have sparked urgent calls for calm, with a wave of pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday further fuelling fears.
The explosions killed 23 people - including two children - and injured more than 3,000 altogether, reportedly plunging Lebanese militant group Hezbollah into disarray. The Saudi ambassador has warned that, on top of further destabilising the region, the conflicts have a unique effect on the western world.
Speaking to Sky News, Prince Khalid said the situation in Gaza is only getting worse, and called for "renewed efforts" to end the fighting. He said: "I'd like to say I was optimistic, but it is difficult to see where that optimism would come from. The situation on the ground is getting worse and worse... I think this is the closest we've been to a regional war since 1973."
The ambassador added that the international community must "push harder" and bring Palestinian and Israeli representatives to the table, adding the conflict could spread "to the world". He said: "A conflict that spreads beyond where it is, spreads to the region. If it spreads to the region, it spreads to the world, and that's not a scenario that anybody wants to see."
"It is time we put renewed efforts in to stop the fighting… we need more of the international community to push harder." Members of the United Nations stepped up pressure on Israel this week by issuing a General Assembly joint resolution demanding troops leave Gaza within 12 months.
The assembly voted by 124 votes in favour, with Israel among the 14 nations against, to pass a resolution saying Israel must end "its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory". While it was welcomed by Palestinian members - who were not allowed to vote as members of an observer state - as a vital point “in our struggle for freedom and justice", Israeli representatives denounced the move as "diplomatic terrorism".
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