Qatar has stressed there should be clear positions from both Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire, adding that it is still waiting to reach language that is agreed by both parties.
Majed al-Ansari, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, “We are waiting for a clear Israeli position that represents the entire government in response to the US’s Gaza proposal.”
He noted that the ceasefire deal should immediately end the long suffering of all people in Gaza and the hostages and their families and provide a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis.
Speaking at a news briefing in Doha, the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated thatnegotiators have not had “concrete approvals” by either side yet to the proposal on the table.
“We have already seen statements coming from Israeli ministers which doesn’t give us a lot of confidence of there being a unified position on Israel in Israel over this current proposal on the table. We can see also that there is a positive momentum building up on both sides.”
Majed al-Ansari
Al-Ansari added, “The Israeli government is meeting right now, and there are discussions over accepting the proposals on the table.”
Nonetheless, he urged the international community, to put pressure on both sides to accept the proposals on the ground and “end this immediately, which would only happen with all of us working together to make sure that both sides understand they need to get a deal done right now.”
Furthermore, Majed al-Ansari stressed that there are “no other options on the ground” to ending the war other than sitting down at the negotiating table and reaching a deal.
“No one can have a total win on this war. I think it’s very clear to the international community that claims that you can wipe out Hamas, or sideline the Palestinian issue altogether will only produce more violence, and that it is unachievable.”
Majed al-Ansari
Confusing Situation Amid Divergent Opinions Over Ceasefire Plan
Meanwhile, Sultan Barakat, a Professor of public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, stated that the situation remains “very confusing” days after the U.S President, Joe Biden’s announcement of a proposed roadmap towards a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
“Biden has announced something that some Israelis say that he should not have announced, some say he announced it without our approval and there’s an opinion that maybe he’s announced it with Gantz’s approval as opposed to Netanyahu and Gallant, the other two members of the war cabinet.
“That shows that there may be a split within Israel as to which direction they can take.”
Sultan Barakat
Barakat added that War Cabinet Minister, Benny Gantz obviously is observing the polls now and he can see that “the centre left is gaining a little bit of support and they offer their support to Netanyahu to even replace the far right.”
“Netanyahu is still standing with the far right but Netanyahu – I suspect – is trying to take a detour around Biden by speaking to the American public directly and this is what could have prompted Biden to come out public with a plan,” he added.
He cited the move by top US legislators last week to issue a formal invitation for Israeli Prime Minister , Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver a speech to Congress even as the International Criminal Court considers issuing an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes.
“Maybe now it’s Biden effort to try and talk directly to the Israeli public and to the wider international community,” Barakat said, noting that with November’s polls approaching, the US President would want to concentrate on his re-election campaign.
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