Qatar Rejects Israel's Reservations About Its Role in the Gaza Peace Council

SadaNews - The spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majid Al-Ansari, expressed his country's disapproval of Israeli media reports regarding Israeli Prime Minister's reservations about Qatar's role in the Peace Council specifically for the Gaza Strip.

Al-Ansari added in a press conference in Doha that the Israeli stance will not deter Qatar from its role, confirming that Qatar is committed to ensuring the success of the war cessation agreement in Gaza and that it will communicate with the United States in this regard.

He further stated, "The Israeli side must fulfill its obligations fully under the war cessation agreement regarding Gaza, and the international community must pressure Israel to allow the entry of the technocrat committee into Gaza."

Al-Ansari explained that the State of Qatar is committed to supporting its brothers in Gaza, emphasizing that Israeli practices make life more difficult for Palestinians by undermining efforts to provide assistance to Gaza.

Earlier, Haaretz reported, citing sources, that Israel refuses to allow members of the Palestinian technocrat committee to enter the Gaza Strip and also refuses to open the Rafah crossing despite the United States' demand for this as part of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the region.

The newspaper quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that "including representatives from Turkey and Qatar in the executive council of Gaza was not mentioned in the original understandings between Israel and the United States, and the powers of this new council remain unclear, as does its role."

For its part, Channel 12 reported that sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a phone call on Saturday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which he expressed his reservations about the inclusion of Qatar and Turkey in the advisory council overseeing the interim administration of the Gaza Strip.

The channel added, citing its sources, that Rubio informed Netanyahu during the call that there was no turning back on the involvement of Qatar and Turkey in the advisory council, and that the decision was made.