Dubai ruler uses verse to condemn Israel's Gaza blockade
AFP
DUBAI- Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum published a poem on Thursday criticising Israel's blockade of Gaza and urging the Arabs to come to the aid of the impoverished territory.
In "Gaza's Iliad," published in the Al-Khaleej daily, Sheikh Mohammed condemned Israel's deadly raid last month on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in which nine Turkish activists were killed.
Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (pictured on poster)
The Emirati leader also described the "call for peace without taking action a lie," and criticised what he described as the UN Security Council's silence on the blockade.
"What is going on, Security council? Why the silence?" the ruler wrote.
On Thursday Israel approved a plan to ease its 2007 blockade of Hamas-run Gaza following weeks of international pressure, but provided few details on what new goods would be allowed in.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also vice president of the United Arab Emirates and holds a number of other key posts, is the author of numerous poems, some of which have been used in songs and television series.
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