Qatar told Israel that the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas has suspended talks for a potential prisoner swap agreement, Israeli media reported on Thursday.
“Hamas told Qatari mediators that it demands a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and an end to the war on the first stage of any prisoner swap deal,” the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported, citing a source familiar with the talks.
There was no immediate comment from Qatar on the report.
Hamas is believed to be holding nearly 136 Israeli captives following a cross-border military operation on October 7.
The Palestinian Resistance group demands an end to Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip for any deal on a prisoner swap with Israel.
For its part, the Israeli government has rejected calls for halting the Gaza war until destroying Hamas and releasing hostages.
BREAKING| Spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed Al Ansari, condemns statements by Netanyahu claiming that Qatar is more problematic than the Red Cross and the UN, and describes them as being “destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not… pic.twitter.com/29yudPitLy
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 24, 2024
Qatar’s Mediation
On Wednesday, Qatar slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he was heard in a leaked recording criticizing Doha’s mediation efforts aimed at securing the release of the remaining captives.
In the recording, which was broadcast on Tuesday by Israel’s Channel 12, Netanyahu said that he did not publicly thank Doha because it had not done enough to press Hamas and advised the US to put more pressure on the Qatari government.
“We are appalled by the alleged remarks attributed to the Israeli prime minister in various media reports about Qatar’s mediation role,” al-Ansari said in a statement.
“These remarks, if validated, are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising,” he added.
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Al-Ansari said that “for months, and following successful mediation last year that led to the release of more than a hundred hostages, 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 further noted that “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 prioritizing saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages.”
“Instead of concerning himself with Qatar’s strategic relations with the United States, we hope Netanyahu decides to operate in good faith and concentrate on the release of the hostages,” he added.
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There was no immediate response from Netanyahu’s office to al-Ansari’s statements.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 25,700 Palestinians have been killed, and 63,730 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(PC, Anadolu)
