Washington: The United States has responded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insults against Qatar. US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that Qatar has an indispensable role in mediating the Gaza issue.
“Qatar has an irreplaceable and irreplaceable role in mediating to end the Israel-Hamas war. “Qatar is an important regional partner of the US,” he said.
Patel’s comments came in response to questions about Netanyahu’s reference to Qatar, which acts as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, as troublemakers. “In my view, Qatar is like the United Nations and the Red Cross. “Not only that, but Qatar is more problematic than them,” Netanyahu said while talking to the relatives of the hostages. ‘Channel 12’ released the audio recording of this. Netanyahu goes on to say that he is disappointed that the United States has not put more pressure on Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders.
“I have no illusions about Qatar. They have influence over Hamas… because Qatar funds them. Channel 12 reported Netanyahu saying, “I was recently angry with the United States for renewing the agreement to extend the US military presence in Qatar for another 10 years.”
After this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar came out with a warning that insulting Qatar, which played a crucial role in the release of the hostages, will have a detrimental effect on the release of the rest of the hostages. Expressing surprise at the remarks, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majeed Al Ansari pointed out that the statement would undermine efforts to save innocent lives. “This is an irresponsible and destructive statement. But it’s not surprising that (Netanyahu) is saying this,” he tweeted. “If the remarks (released by Channel 12) are true, the Prime Minister of Israel is prioritizing his political gain over saving the lives of innocent people, including Israeli hostages. To this end (Netanyahu) is obstructing and undermining the mediation process” – wrote Majid al-Ansari.
After the successful release of more than 100 hostages, Qatar has been in constant talks with parties including Israel for months to reach an agreement for the release of the remaining hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. If the reported remarks are true, the Israeli prime minister is obstructing and undermining the mediation process. He (Netanyahu) prioritizes his political advantage over saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages. Instead of worrying about Qatar’s strategic relationship with the United States, we hope Netanyahu decides to focus on freeing the hostages,” the tweet stated.