DOHA, (PIC)
Qatar has denied media reports claiming it has withdrawn from mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, saying its efforts in this regard have been stalled temporarily.
In a statement on Saturday, foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said “the media reports about the State of Qatar’s withdrawal from mediation regarding the ceasefire in Gaza are not accurate.”
He added that Qatar “notified the parties 10 days ago, during the last attempts to reach an agreement, that it would suspend its efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel if an agreement was not reached in that round.”
The statement said Doha “will resume those efforts with its partners when the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians.”
The spokesman said Qatar “will not accept that mediation be a reason for blackmailing it.”
He said since the initial truce last November, there have been manipulative tactics, including reneging from obligations already agreed upon, and exploiting the negotiations to justify the continuation of the war to serve “narrow political purposes.”
Ansari also described news reports concerning the closure of the Hamas political bureau in Doha as “inaccurate,” saying its primary purpose is to be a “channel of communication” between the concerned parties, stressing that this channel had contributed to achieving a ceasefire following previous efforts.
He stressed the need to obtain information from official sources.
International media earlier claimed that Qatar would stop mediating Gaza ceasefire talks and that it told Hamas leaders they were no longer welcome in Doha.
