Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jasim al Thani said the Arab-Islamic summit will be held in Doha in the coming days, and participants will decide on the response process. However, he noted that Qatar does not ask regional partners to respond in a specific way.
In an interview with American network CNN yesterday, his Excellency said he hopes Qatar has a “collective regional response” to Israeli attacks on Hamas officials in Doha.
“There’s a local response. It’s currently being discussed in consultation with other partners in the region,” he added.
He believes that Israeli attacks targeting residential lots in Doha still “kill hope” for hostages in Gaza.
His Excellency states:
“We can’t find any words to express how angry we are about this attack. It’s national terrorism. We’ve been betrayed,” he added.
He said he could not predict Hamas’ reaction to the recent US proposal to a ceasefire, but he expressed his belief that both Israel and Hamas are “using out of chance” to reach the ceasefire agreement.
He continued: “I met one of the hostage family on the morning of the attack. They rely on this mediation. They have no other hope.”
He said that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was held responsible and was brought to trial, saying, “He must be tried… He has been appointed to the International Criminal Court. He violates all laws – he violates all international laws.”
“Netanyahu is trying to undermine opportunities for stability and peace,” he added.
He also noted that it was “public knowledge” that his meeting took place with Hamas leaders as part of Qatar’s mediation role in the ongoing Middle East conflict.
He said, “Everything about the conference is well known to Israelis and Americans. This is not something we are hiding. There is no justification to label this as having terrorism.”
He added that Qatar is “reevaluating everything” regarding participation in future ceasefire talks.
rhm/