Qatar slams Netanyahu over asking Doha to pressure Hamas

CAIRO – 19 February 2024: Qatar has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his comments about asking Doha to put pressure on Hamas to release Israeli captives.

Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed Al Ansari said on his X platform that the Israeli Prime Minister's recent statements in which Netanyahu called on Qatar to pressure Hamas to release the Israeli captives are nothing but a new attempt to prolong the war for “reasons that have become clear to everyone.”

“The Israeli Prime Minister knows very well that Qatar has been committed from day one to mediation efforts, ending the crisis and freeing the hostages. This was made evident by the success of the previous humanitarian truce in freeing 109 hostages proving that mediation is the only effective method in securing the return of the […] hostages, de-escalation, and protecting regional security,” he said.

He added: “We categorically reject the empty accusations made by the Israeli Prime Minister regarding Qatari efforts in reconstruction and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza, portraying them as funding Hamas, which he personally knows were carried out in full coordination with Israel, the US, Egypt, the United Nations, and all concerned parties.”

The Spokesman continued “We affirm that Qatar is continuing its mediation efforts and not paying attention to the polemics and statements that we can only understand in the context of escaping from the personal political crises of the Israeli Prime Minister. We ask him to focus on the course of negotiations in a way that serves the security of the region and ends the ongoing tragedy of continuing war, instead of issuing such statements whenever that suits his narrow political agenda.”