Qatari PM warns Gaza deal not a true ceasefire without Israeli withdrawal
Tehran - BORNA - Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, Al Thani said the current nearly two-month truce has reached a “critical” juncture as the first phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan draws to a close.
“What we have just done is a pause,” he said. “We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire. A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out, which is not the case today.”
The Qatari premier further noted that international mediators are pushing to launch the second phase of the peace plan, which aims to solidify the agreement and establish a long-term political framework.
He also stated that even the next phase must remain “temporary,” stressing the necessity of creating a Palestinian state for sustainable peace.
“If we are just resolving what happened in Gaza, the catastrophe that happened in the last two years, it’s not enough,” he said. “There is a root for this conflict. And this conflict is not only about Gaza."
“It’s about Gaza. It’s about the West Bank. It’s about the rights of the Palestinians for their state. We are hoping that we can work together with the US administration to achieve this vision at the end of the day,” he added.
At the same forum, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also raised concerns about the proposed "International Stabilization Force (ISF)" in Gaza, citing uncertainties about participating countries, command structure, and initial objectives.
“Thousands of details, questions are in place,” he said. “I think once we deploy ISF, the rest will come.”
Turkey, one of the 'guarantors' of the ceasefire, faced rejection from Israel regarding its involvement in the force due to strained relations between the two sides.
Israel accepted the Gaza truce deal after two years, following the failure to achieve its declared objectives of eliminating Hamas and freeing all captives, despite killing 68,116 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 170,200 others since launching the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Trump pushed for a ceasefire deal as part of a US-led diplomatic effort, engaging regional powers and both parties to halt hostilities and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The initial phase of Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan took effect on October 10 and saw a prisoner exchange, but further stages have not been negotiated yet.
However, the fragility of the US president's 20-point Gaza deal was evident from the beginning, as reports from Gaza health officials indicated over 360 Palestinian casualties since the ceasefire's initiation, with the latest incident involving an Israeli airstrike northwest of Gaza City.
Despite the pause in large-scale hostilities, the situation remains tense, with continued reports of Israeli fire causing Palestinian casualties and tensions around crossing truce lines into Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza.
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