Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani confirmed that momentum has returned to negotiations aimed at reaching a truce and prisoner exchange between the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" and Israel after the end of the US elections.

The Qatari prime minister said during a session at the Doha Forum titled “Resolving Conflicts in a New Era” that there is a lot of encouragement from the incoming US administration to reach an agreement, even before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

The Qatari official added that the past weeks have witnessed activity in the negotiations, expressing his hope that this activity will lead to reaching an agreement between the two sides.

He explained that there are some differences in the approach of both the administration of President Joe Biden and the administration of President Trump to some issues and matters. “Whether we like it or not, this approach of course affects the decisions taken and what happens on the ground, but we have not noticed any differences or rejection by the new administration regarding the main goal, which is to end the war in Gaza.”

The Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister pointed out that the gaps and points of difference between Hamas and Israel are not large and not of a size that would affect the negotiations. He said, "The question is simple: Is there a will to end the war? Yes or no? And is there a will to reach an exchange deal? Yes or no? Two simple questions and two simple answers."

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Syrian crisis

Regarding the developments in Syria, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman expressed his belief that “there are two main factors related to what is happening today in Syria. The first is a factor that was expected given the current events in Gaza,” noting that the State of Qatar has warned everyone of the expansion of the conflict and the consequences of the war in Gaza on the entire region.

He added that the world "was surprised by the events we witnessed in the past few days, but we were not surprised as much as we were surprised by the speed of progress achieved by the opposition in Syria, and this situation may develop and become more dangerous," expressing concern about the escalation of the seriousness of the situation and the return of internal violence and civil war that threatens the territorial integrity of the Syrian state.

He called on everyone to show responsibility and address the issue from a political perspective, saying, "There is no doubt that this situation could destroy what remains of Syria unless we all show a sense of responsibility and quickly try to establish the framework required to address this issue from a political perspective and reach a sustainable solution."

He said that the role of the State of Qatar is to ensure the stability of the region and to ensure its stability as a state, and in order to ensure this stability we must interact with all parties and work to resolve the conflict peacefully.

He stressed that none of the conflicts that occurred in the region during the past 30 to 40 years were resolved on the battlefield, and all that happened was de-escalation by opening lines of communication.

He stressed that the State of Qatar is a platform for bringing together different parties, and is keen to communicate, participate, interact and invite all parties to the table for dialogue, "but we cannot be expected to impose solutions on these parties."

The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar concluded by stressing the importance of applying international law equally to all conflicts.

He pointed out that the peoples of the region see that many countries that are considered pioneers in international law, human rights and legal laws are turning a blind eye to what is happening in the region and are focusing only on what is happening in Ukraine, for example.