Qatari Prime Minister calls for ‘full implementation’ of Gaza ceasefire agreement | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Sheikh Mohammed shares details about the Gaza ceasefire talks and Syria talks.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called for the full implementation of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and expressed hope that the next phase will be final.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera on Friday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he now expects “ [UN] The Security Council will issue a binding resolution for implementation [ceasefire] agreement.
On Wednesday, Qatar, Egypt and the United States announced that Hamas and Israel reached a multi-phase agreement to end the war in Gaza and exchange Israeli prisoners held in the Strip for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Mediators said the ceasefire in Gaza would last effect on Sunday. The first phase of the agreement is spread over seven weeks and will see an increase in humanitarian aid, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of Israeli prisoners in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is expected to begin in March, provided the first phase runs smoothly towards Israel.
The Israeli government is expected to ratify the ceasefire agreement later on Friday.
Al Jazeera reporter Stefanie Dekker reports from Amman, Jordan he said that the Israeli government is holding a meeting to discuss the issue.
“This meeting was expected to take place on Saturday, but pressure from mediators forced them to start today,” she said.
Sheikh Mohammed pointed out that Qatar and Egypt played an important role as mediators in the truce negotiations. He said the joint work of the outgoing Biden administration and members of President-elect Donald Trump’s team was decisive in reaching the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
He stressed, however, that Qatar’s position is only a mediator and said that “governance of Gaza after the war is a Palestinian matter.”
Sheikh Mohammed also stressed the importance of mobilizing international support for Gaza and establishing mechanisms to support the affected families.
“A humanitarian protocol has been reached regarding an aid delivery mechanism to prevent blackmail,” he said.
Sanctions ‘are not logical’
In addition to negotiating a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, Qatar is also focused on strengthening of relations with Syria’s new de facto administration led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group led the opposition offensive that ousted Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month.
Sheikh Mohammed met with al-Shara in Damascus on Thursday and called for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Syria.
“We have been making efforts to lift the sanctions since day one [Assad] The fall of the regime, and we do not want Syria to fail,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
“Sanctions were imposed on the Assad regime and now they are not logical. The new administration is not expected to simultaneously solve international problems and work for its people under sanctions,” he added.
Both the US and the European Union have imposed sanctions on al-Assad and his government for alleged crimes during the war, which began after security forces cracked down on pro-democracy protesters in 2011. Washington and Brussels have not yet decided whether to lift these sanctions, but have begun to signal their interest in cooperating with the new Syrian administration.
Sheikh Mohammed also criticized Israeli moves to occupy territory near the Golan Heights in southern Syria.
“We reject Israel’s reckless act of incursion into the buffer zone in Syria. We spoke with Ahmad al-Shara and confirmed the necessity of Israel
retreats and that the incursion should not create a new reality,” he said.
Israel deployed military units last month in the buffer zone, which runs along the Golan Heights and separates Syria and Israel, after al-Assad was ousted. The area was officially declared a demilitarized zone as part of the 1974 UN-brokered ceasefire.
