Gaza truce talks to resume in Doha

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani on Thursday announced that US and Israeli delegations will arrive in Doha in the coming days to participate in Gaza ceasefire negotiations, adding that Qatar has communicated with Hamas leaders after the killing of the Palestinian movement’s political bureau chief Yahya Sinwar.

Addressing a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Doha, HE Sheikh Mohammed said the teams will discuss ways in which a breakthrough can be achieved but did not specify when these negotiations will be held or whether Hamas will participate.

Blinken said that negotiators will meet “in the coming days” to discuss reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip and releasing hostages, renewing his call for Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement.

Blinken told reporters after talks in Qatar, the main mediator in the negotiations, “We talked about options to take advantage of this moment and the next steps to move the process forward, and I expect our negotiators to meet in the coming days.”

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Friday that the group had told Egyptian officials it was ready to stop fighting in Gaza if Israel committed to a ceasefire deal.

HE the Prime Minister expressed Qatar’s condemnation of the Israeli blockade on northern Gaza, denouncing the systematic bombing of hospitals and refugee camps and the escalation of the situation to the point of “dropping explosive barrels on our brothers in Gaza”.

HE Sheikh Mohammed said: “First, I would like to welcome my colleague, Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State. Of course, we meet after a year has passed since the war on the Gaza Strip and the development of this conflict reaching Lebanon and other regions in the Middle East.

“The meeting was important and fruitful, as we had the opportunity to discuss the latest developments in the war on Gaza and the path to reaching a solution and the ongoing joint efforts between Qatar, the United States of America, the Arab Republic of Egypt and partners in the region to reach a solution to stop the war and release the hostages and prisoners.

“Unfortunately, from the beginning of this war, we have been warning against the development and expansion of the conflict to other regions in the Middle East, and we see that the war has expanded to Lebanon and other regions. Therefore, discussion on ways to stop the war on Lebanon took up a large part of our discussions in order to reach an urgent solution to stop this aggression against our brotherly Lebanon and to adhere to the Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 1701.

“Unfortunately, in the past few days, we have seen an increase in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, especially in the northern region. We condemn this siege on northern Gaza and the systematic bombing of hospitals and refugee camps. We have seen the situation develop into the dropping of explosive barrels on our brothers in Gaza. We believe that this painful phase that we are going through in the region must end as soon as possible in order to protect the innocent and civilians in the region.”

HE the prime minister continued: “We had the opportunity to talk about the importance of finding a sustainable solution to the Palestinian issue and of course what is called the day after Gaza, which is the path to peace in the region in general. Our discussions on this file were constructive discussions and there were many proposals and discussions about these proposals and how we can reach a stable and sustainable situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, leading to a sustainable solution to the Palestinian issue, and of course keeping the two-state solution as the main reference for this process.

“The efforts to end the war have been ongoing since October 8, first to prevent the war from breaking out, and then also to prevent the expansion of the war and contain the conflict. As I mentioned, the efforts in November resulted in the release of some prisoners and hostages and a temporary ceasefire.
Unfortunately, since that time, we have been trying as much as possible to reach an agreement to end this war. Unfortunately, the negotiations went through several stages in which there were great challenges, and every time we got closer to a solution, unfortunately, there was a regression in the steps.”

In response to a question about whether Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was obstructing the negotiations, he said: “Through our role as a mediator, our policies are based on not saying who constitutes an obstacle, and not favouring one party over the other. You can go back to the negotiation process and see where it stopped at each stage, and it will be clear who stopped it at each stage.”

Asked whether Qatar had contacted Hamas leaders after Sinwar’s assassination, he said, “We have resumed contact with representatives of the Hamas political bureau in Doha. We have held some meetings with them in the past few days. “

Regarding the accusations made by the Israeli occupation against Al Jazeera journalists, HE Sheikh Mohammed said: “We are very proud of the Al Jazeera Foundation and its coverage of wars in the world, stressing that the Al Jazeera Network works according to the highest international standards and there is no justification for targeting journalists in conflict zones and excuses for that are unacceptable.”

HE the Prime Minister thanked Blinken for the visit. “ We are certain that by committing to the partnership between Qatar, the countries of the region and the United States, we can achieve peace in the region.”

Blinken said: “Allow me to express our appreciation for the essential and major role played by Qatar as an important partner in its attempt to bring peace and stability to the region.

“Qatar plays a major and significant role in returning the hostages to their families, ending the war, and trying to end the suffering of the people of Gaza.

“I would like to personally tell HE the Prime Minister of Qatar that you personally played a major role in the efforts to return the hostages to their homes.”
He added that Qatar has generously provided thousands of tonnes of aid to Gaza over the past months, noting that Qatar has provided important aid to the Lebanese army, such as salaries and fuel.

Blinken said that the negotiation process is moving forward, and that a negotiation session on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas will be held within days, noting that “this is the moment to act to end the war, return the hostages to their homes and build a better future for the people of Gaza.” Blinken added that “the negotiations will be held in the coming days and we will know if Hamas is serious about them,” adding, “We reject the generals’ plan to starve and kill people. It is necessary that we have a plan that allows Israel to leave the Gaza Strip and prevents the return of Hamas.”

Regarding Lebanon, Blinken said that the United States seeks to reach a diplomatic solution in Lebanon based on Resolution 1701 and the return of everyone to their homes on both sides.