Negotiations to maintain the cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip based on the United States peace plan are at a critical point, Qatari Prime Minister Muhammad bin Abdarrahman Al Sani announced on Saturday. According to him, the situation in Gaza cannot yet be considered a truce, as there has not yet been a restoration of stability or a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the coastal enclave. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the AFP and Reuters agencies.
- Ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip are at a critical point.
- A truce between Israel and Hamas was concluded on October 10.
- The second step of the agreement involves the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
- The plan includes the deployment of international stabilization forces to the area.
- Hamas rejects the proposal to disarm according to the proposals of the peace plan.
A ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant movement in the Gaza Strip helped close Qatar along with the US and Egypt. The ceasefire went into effect on October 10 under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan and largely ended two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Plans for the second step
As part of the second phase of the cease-fire agreement, which has not yet begun, Israel is to withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip, a transitional administration is to take over the government there, and the International Stabilization Force (ISF) is to be deployed in the enclave.
“We are at a critical point. What we have achieved so far is just a pause,” the Qatari prime minister told a diplomatic conference in Doha, referring to the cessation of fighting in Gaza. “We cannot consider it a ceasefire yet. The ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and stability is restored in Gaza and people can come and go freely – which is not the case today,” he added.
Problematic stabilizing forces
According to Reuters, it is particularly difficult for the negotiating parties to find an agreement regarding the composition and mandate of the stabilization forces. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in Doha that questions remain about the force’s command structure and which nations would participate. Arab and Muslim countries are hesitant to participate, AFP noted.
However, according to the head of Turkish diplomacy, the first goal of the ISF should be to “separate the Palestinians from the Israelis,” he said at the forum, adding that it would then be possible to address other remaining issues.
Disarmament of Hamas
Trump’s peace plan also includes the disarmament of Hamas, which the movement has repeatedly rejected. Militants who surrender their weapons will be allowed to leave Gaza as planned.
The Qatari prime minister said that Qatar and the other guarantors of the ceasefire – Turkey, Egypt and the US – are currently working together on the second phase of the agreement. “And this next phase is also only temporary from our point of view. If we just deal with what happened in the last two years, it is not enough,” he added, calling for a “permanent solution that will ensure justice for both nations.”
