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Qatar said Israel’s reported objections to Doha’s role in a Gaza peace council will not deter its efforts to support a ceasefire agreement, as Israeli media reported Israel is blocking the entry of a Palestinian technocratic committee and resisting U.S. calls related to the Rafah crossing.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on Tuesday that his country was dismayed by what Israeli media reports revealed about the Israeli prime minister’s reservations over Qatar’s role in the Peace Council for the Gaza Strip.
Al Ansari added at a press conference in Doha that Israel’s position would not deter Qatar from its role, stressing that Qatar is committed to ensuring the success of the agreement plan to halt the war in Gaza and that it will remain in contact with the United States on this matter.
“The Israeli side must fully implement its obligations under the agreement to halt the war in Gaza, and the international community must pressure Israel to allow the technocratic committee to enter Gaza,” Al Ansari added.
Al Ansari said Qatar remains committed to supporting the people of Gaza, adding that Israel’s practices are making Palestinians’ lives harder by undermining efforts to deliver aid to Gaza.
Earlier, Haaretz reported, citing sources, that Israel is refusing to allow members of the Palestinian technocratic committee to enter the Gaza Strip and is also refusing to reopen the Rafah crossing, despite U.S. demands to do so as part of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the enclave.
The newspaper quoted a senior Israeli official as saying, “The inclusion of representatives from Türkiye and Qatar in Gaza’s executive council was not part of the original understandings between Israel and the United States. The powers of this new council, as well as its role, have yet to become clear.”
Separately, Israel’s Channel 12 quoted sources as saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call on Saturday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which he voiced reservations about including Qatar and Türkiye in the advisory council that will oversee Gaza’s temporary administration.
The channel added, citing its sources, that Rubio told Netanyahu during the call that there is no going back on involving Qatar and Türkiye in the advisory council and that the decision has been made.
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