The State of Qatar has been warning from the day one of Israel’s Gaza war that the conflict, apart from destroying the innocent Palestinian lives, poses a threat to the entire region.
A hundred days forward, the war on Gaza is far from over and has led to hostilities in parts of the region. Qatar has stressed that the solution to these hostilities lies in stopping the war on Gaza.
The state has been at the forefront of regional and global efforts for ending the war and addressing the humanitarian crisis Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza has created. Despite the challenges and complexities of the situation, Qatar has not given up its mediation efforts.
This week, Qatar helped broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas to deliver medicines and other humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, especially in areas most affected by the conflict.
Under the deal, reached in cooperation with France, two Qatari Armed Forces aircraft will carry the medicines and aid from Qatar to Al Arish city in Egypt near Gaza border for onward delivery to the Palestinian enclave.
Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also discussed developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories during his meeting with Czech President H E Petr Pavel yesterday.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the Palestinian cause is a central issue for the Middle East and the world. The Prime Minister rightly said that the international community’s reaction to the war in the Gaza Strip was unfortunately disappointing for the people of the region and that there is a need to find an immediate solution and ways to end the war as soon as possible, and to release both hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
As Israel continues to bombard Gaza and also kill Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, tensions have flared in the Red Sea where sips have come under attack and in response the US and the UK have launched retaliatory strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen.
Red Sea is a crucial global maritime trade corridor and the region cannot afford spread of the conflict and tensions. Qatar has stressed that the way to ease these tensions is ending the war on Gaza. The international community is required to make a clear decision to press for stopping this war if it has a real desire to end regional tensions.
