A MONTH after suspending its mediation bid, Qatar has said it sees “momentum” in efforts to reach a deal to end Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, as dozens of Palestinians were killed in the Israeli military’s continued attacks on the besieged enclave.
Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, Qatari Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the country took a step back from mediating Gaza ceasefire talks because it failed to see “a real willingness” to end the war.
But the minister said that after the United States presidential election on November 5, Qatar has sensed “that the momentum is coming back”.
“We have seen a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration [of US President-elect Donald Trump] in order to achieve a deal even before the president comes [into] office” in January, Al Thani said.
“And that actually made us [try] … to put it back on track. We’ve been engaging in the past couple of weeks,” he added.
Efforts to end Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 44,600 Palestinians since early October 2023, have foundered, with critics accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of stymying the negotiations.
The administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden, which has repeatedly said it is pushing for an end to the fighting in Gaza but refuses to condition US aid to Israel, also has faced criticism for failing to secure a ceasefire.
The US provides Israel with at least $3.8bn in military aid annually, and the Biden administration has authorised $14bn in further assistance to its ally since the war began last year.
Trump – who, like Biden, is a staunch supporter of Israel – this week warned that “there will be hell to pay” if captives held in Gaza are not released by the time he enters the White House on January 20.
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he wrote on social media.
