Qatari PM hopes ‘momentum’ now to end Israel’s Gaza war; Hamas deliberates

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani says the Gaza ceasefire plan unveiled by United States President Donald Trump meets the cardinal goals acceptable by mediators – stopping the sidesplitting and displacement of Palestinians – and urged each sides to prehend the “momentum” to bring Israel’s war to an end.

In an interrogation with Al Jazeera aired connected Wednesday, Sheikh Mohammed said Doha had passed the plan, already backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to Hamas’s negotiating squad and discussed its wide terms.

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He acknowledged the program has “practical and implementation challenges,” but said it tackles the astir urgent priority: ending the bloodshed successful the Gaza Strip portion besides opening the doorway to “opportunities”.

“Everyone agreed connected stopping the war, preventing displacement and the afloat withdrawal of the Israeli army. These are the 3 main, pivotal matters,” helium said. “And the nonstop liable enactment for managing Gaza are the Palestinian radical themselves.”

“The main absorption is however to support the radical successful Gaza,” stressed Sheikh Mohammed.

On Monday, Netanyahu apologised to Qatar for the sidesplitting of a Qatari national during an unprecedented Israeli onslaught connected Hamas leaders successful Doha past month, which drew planetary condemnation.

Sheikh Mohammed received the apology connected Monday successful a associated telephone from Trump and Netanyahu during their gathering astatine the White House.

‘There are challenges’

The 20-point plan has drawn support from a wide scope of Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Turkiye and Indonesia. It stipulates that erstwhile agreed, the attacks successful Gaza volition extremity instantly and “full aid” volition beryllium allowed into the Strip.

Representatives from Turkiye are joining a gathering of the Gaza mediation squad successful Doha amid the diplomatic movement. “Turkiye present stands arsenic portion of the US initiative” and is collaborating intimately connected it, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told a quality league connected Tuesday.

The program states that each Israeli captives would beryllium freed wrong 72 hours of its acceptance, followed by Israel’s merchandise of astir 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas, for its part, would measurement down from powerfulness and demilitarise, with its members granted amnesty.

An planetary unit would beryllium deployed to temporarily oversee information and bid section Palestinian constabulary forces, portion a technocratic committee of Palestinians would presume interim work for governance.

Sheikh Mohammed said the details connected immoderate of the points, specifically the process of Israel’s withdrawal and constitution of a aboriginal Palestinian administration, volition request to beryllium clarified and negotiated.

The program sets nary docket oregon wide standards for Israel’s withdrawal, and vaguely gives Israel the close to clasp onto a “security perimeter” until the territory “is decently secured”.

Sheikh Mohammed said fleshing retired these matters “is chiefly the enactment of the Palestinian broadside with the Israeli side, but besides arsenic a broader supporting planetary community, determination indispensable beryllium a wide and ineligible model for this matter, which of people volition beryllium astatine the UN Security Council.”

Hamas, which Doha says has promised to “responsibly examine” the proposal, has yet to springiness an authoritative reply. Trump connected Tuesday said the radical had 3 to 4 days to answer, and warned that if it didn’t motion on, they would “pay successful hell”.

“This program is not an offer, arsenic Trump made rather clear. It’s an ultimatum,” said Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna from Washington, DC.

‘No guarantees’

Some analysts raised concerns that the program does not supply Palestinians with capable information guarantees oregon a way to autonomous governance.

“If you work the statement itself, determination are nary guarantees provided to the Palestinians, not a azygous guarantee,” said Palestinian lawyer and expert Diana Buttu. “All guarantees are provided to the Israelis.”

“There is each denotation that if, astatine immoderate point, Israel decides that it wants to spell backmost to the war, it volition bash so,” said Phyllis Bennis, a programme manager astatine the Institute for Policy Studies successful Washington, DC.

The renewed ceasefire propulsion comes arsenic Israel presses a devastating violative into what it claims is 1 of Hamas’s past strongholds successful Gaza City, astir 2 years into the war.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s attacks successful the enclave person killed 66,097 Palestinians and injured 168,536, portion its assistance restrictions person contributed to wide malnutrition, causing 453 hunger-related deaths, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.