New York: Qatar’s prime minister has said Doha is re-evaluating its role as a mediator in negotiations aimed at bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli captives, adding that some parties have used the mediation for “narrow political interest”.
Qatar has been working to try to mediate a deal throughout the six months of fighting in Gaza. However, there is still no sign of any breakthrough in the negotiations, as Israel and Hamas each refuse to move on conditions the other side declares unacceptable.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Turkey’s foreign minister in Qatar’s capital this week, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said that while his government remains committed to mediation between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas on a “humanitarian basis”, there has been “abuse and harm” done related to Doha’s role.
Some parties have made “destructive” statements against Qatar, he said, without specifying to whom he was referring. The comments came a day after US lawmaker Steny Hoyer accused Qatar of siding with Hamas and said Washington would re-evaluate its ties with Doha if it does not pressure Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal advanced by Israel.
Qatari mediators earlier warned that talks on a truce in Gaza had hit a “stumbling block”. The negotiations to end the fighting and secure the release of captives are at a “delicate phase,” Sheikh Mohammed said at a news conference alongside Romanian counterpart Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
Close to 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, while the 2.3-million-strong population has been left in dire conditions, amid shortages of food, shelter, and medicine. Meanwhile, the armed Hamas group continues to hold more than 100 captives taken from Israel during its raid across the enclave’s northern border on October 7, which killed more than 1,100. (Courtesy: Al-Jazeera)
