Qatar said Wednesday, January 24, that it was appalled by remarks made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling Doha’s role as a mediator in the ongoing war in Gaza as ‘problematic’.
Taking to X, Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed Al-Ansari wrote, “These remarks, if validated, are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising.”
“For months, and following a successful mediation last year that led to the release of more than a hundred hostage, Qatar has been engaged in regular dialogue with the negotiating parties including Israeli institutions, attempting to establish the framework for a new hostage agreement and the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
He continued, “If the reported remarks are found to be true, the Israeli PM would only be obstructing and undermining the mediation process, for reasons that appear to serve his political career instead of prioritising saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages.
“Instead of concerning himself with Qatar’s strategic relations with the United States, we hope [Benjamin] Netanyahu decides to operate in good faith and concentrate on the release of the hostages,” he added.
Israel’s Channel 12 published a leaked recording of Netanyahu during his meeting with the families of prisoners detained in Gaza.
Netanyahu stated that Qatar’s mediation role in the exchange deal with the “Hamas” represents more problematic than the United Nations and the Red Cross.
Netanyahu indicated that he did not thank Qatar publicly because it did not exert more pressure on the Hamas movement, which Doha is believed to be financing.
In response, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Qatar “a country that supports terrorism and funds terrorism” and accused it of being responsible for October 7.
“Qatar was largely responsible” for the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities and called on Western countries to apply more pressure on it to bring an immediate release of the hostages,” Smotrich wrote on X.
“One thing is clear: Qatar will not be involved in what happens in Gaza the day after the war,” he added.
On Tuesday, January 16, Doha announced the success of Qatari mediation in reaching an agreement between the Israeli occupation state and the Hamas movement to bring medicines and aid into Gaza.
In November 2023, Qatar succeeded in reaching a truce in Gaza in cooperation with Egypt and America, which lasted seven days and during which an exchange of prisoners took place between the Hamas movement and the Israeli occupation.
Qatar again playing a pivotal role in the ongoing talks to release more prisoners, as well as reaching an agreement to end the war in Gaza.
