Qatar is
“reassessing”
its mediation between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, said Wednesday the prime minister of this Gulf country which plays a leading role in negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip.
“We are carrying out a global reassessment of our role
,” declared Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane Al-Thani in a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
Anger
He considered that there had been
"an attack on the role of Qatar"
and that his country would take
a "decision at the appropriate time"
on whether or not to continue its involvement in the negotiations aimed at obtaining in particular a truce between the Islamist movement Palestinian Hamas and Israel, at war for more than six months in the Gaza Strip. Qatar recently reacted angrily to a statement by Democratic US Representative Steny Hoyer calling on it to pressure Hamas, calling it
"unconstructive"
.
Mr Hoyer said Qatar should signal to Hamas that
“repercussions”
would follow if the Palestinian group blocked
“progress”
towards a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza. For his part, Mr. Fidan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of wanting to drag the Middle East into war
“to stay in power”
.
“It is obvious that (Benjamin) Netanyahu is trying to drag the region into war to stay in power
,” the Turkish foreign minister said.
Mr. Fidan considered
the risk that the conflict in Gaza would spread to the region
“persistent” .
“We will redouble our efforts to put an end to this war
,” he added at the end of an interview with Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane Al-Thani. Mr. Fidan also indicated that he spoke for
"three hours"
in Doha on Wednesday with Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh and members of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamist movement, notably on the subject of talks in favor of a ceasefire. -fire.
Mr. Haniyeh is due to be received this weekend in Turkey by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of Israel's most critical leaders since the war began on October 7, sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data. More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 129 remain held in Gaza, 34 of whom have died according to Israeli officials. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and led an offensive in the Gaza Strip, where 33,899 people, most of them civilians, were killed, according to the Palestinian movement's health ministry. Figures impossible to confirm as they stand.