‘Momentum for Gaza talks has picked up again after US vote’

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani has said that following the US elections, momentum has returned to negotiations aimed at reaching a truce and exchanging hostages in the Gaza Strip.At a dialogue session on Conflict Resolution in a New Era within the activities of the Doha Forum 2024, which kicked off yesterday, HE Sheikh Mohammed said that there is much encouragement from the incoming US administration to reach an agreement, even before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.He added that this has prompted a return to the negotiations, putting it back on track, with activity having resumed in the past weeks.HE the Prime Minister said that there will be some differences in the approach of the Biden administration and that of the Trump administration to certain issues and matters.This approach, he added, affects the decisions taken and what happens on the ground.However, HE Sheikh Mohammed said: "We have not noticed any differences or rejection by the (incoming) administration regarding the main goal, which is to end the war in Gaza.”Speaking on the many fluctuations that the negotiations have witnessed since the beginning of the war, he said that a deal was reached on November 23, 2023, under which 109 Israeli hostages and 15 foreign hostages were released in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners.Since then, HE Sheikh Mohammed added, the same process and the same framework have continued, with discussions within this framework continuing until today.He added that they went through several stages during the negotiation process, in which this process was exploited for political reasons by one party or another, and they went through a lot of scrutiny and examination because one party or another tried to score political points.HE the Prime Minister said that the momentum of the negotiations had slackened significantly in the last days before the US elections, with a clear weakening of will and readiness to reach a conclusion to the events that were sweeping the Strip.At that moment, he said, Qatar decided to take a step back, similar to what it did in April, to see if there was a possibility of regaining this momentum.HE Sheikh Mohammed stressed that this issue affects many people, whether the residents of Gaza or the families of the hostages.Unfortunately, he said, given the way things were managed this year and the exposure of all these details to the public, raising the level of hope among the innocent people had negative effects "because we felt frustrated every time as a result of these disappointments”."That’s why we’re focused on achieving meaningful results,” HE the Prime Minister said, "and what we expect and hope for is that we reach results as soon as possible.”"All parties have a real will to deal with things in good faith,” he added.HE Sheikh Mohammed said that the gaps and points of difference between Hamas and Israel are not big and are not of a magnitude that would affect the negotiations."The question is simple: Is there a will to end the war – ‘Yes or no’,” he said. "And is there a will to reach an exchange deal – ‘Yes or no’. Two simple questions, and two simple answers.”He also spoke on the developments in Syria, of which he said there were two factors.HE the Prime Minister said that the first factor was related to the current events in Gaza, in which Qatar had warned against the expansion of the conflict and the consequences of the war in Gaza on the entire region.Qatar noticed the expansion of this situation and the extension of this conflict, he said, whether to Lebanon, the Red Sea, or other areas within the Middle East, and expressed that it is wrong to consider Syria immune to this conflict.The second factor, HE Sheikh Mohammed said, is related to ignoring the situation in Syria.He said that there had been a golden opportunity for peace during the period when the fighting had calmed down.However, this opportunity was not seized by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to begin correcting his relationship with his people, whether regarding the return of refugees or displaced persons, or reconciliation.HE the Prime Minister continued by saying that everyone in the world was surprised by the events witnessed in Syria in the past few days, and the speed in which it occurred.This situation may develop and the danger increase, HE Sheikh Mohammed added, expressing concern about the escalation of the situation and the return of internal violence and civil war that threaten the territorial integrity of the Syrian state.