Qatar reevaluates role as mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and the radical Palestinian group "Hamas", said the Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The agency added that he expressed concern about the undermining of Qatari efforts by politicians seeking to "score points".
Sheikh Mohammed said that "mediation is being abused in the name of narrow political interests and that this requires Qatar to make a complete reassessment of its role". He did not name the politicians he targeted, Reuters explained, recalling that on Tuesday the Qatari embassy in Washington criticized comments made by Democratic US Congressman Steny Hoyer, who called on the US to "reevaluate" its relations with Qatar.
On Monday, Hoyer said Qatar should threaten "Hamas" with "consequences" if the Palestinian Islamist group "continues to sabotage the progress of talks on the release of hostages and a temporary ceasefire," he noted. Reuters.
Sheikh Mohammed stressed yesterday that the role of a mediator has a limit. "Mediators cannot guarantee things that the negotiating parties themselves refrain from (making an offer)," he said. Earlier, the Qatari prime minister said the hostage and ceasefire talks were in a "delicate phase".
"We are doing everything we can to overcome this obstacle," he announced, without giving further details, while at the same time denouncing the policy of "collective punishment" followed by Israel in the war against "Hamas" in Gaza, as well as the latest acts of violence in the territory of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.