The Qatari capital, Doha, is preparing to host a new round of negotiations related to a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, and a deal to exchange prisoners and detainees between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel.
After months of stagnation, the negotiations received a new impetus with the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to the region for the 11th time since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Blinken said during a joint press conference, today, Thursday, in Doha with the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, “We talked about options to take advantage of this moment and the next steps to move the process forward, and I expect our negotiators to meet in the coming days.”
He added, “This is a moment to work to end this war, ensure that all hostages return to their homes, and build a better future for the people in Gaza.”
For his part, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman said that two American and Israeli negotiating delegations will visit Doha to participate in truce negotiations in Gaza. He explained that Qatari officials met with officials from the Hamas political office in Doha during the past two days, but he pointed out that so far “there is no Clarity on the way forward.”
Blinken said that the ceasefire plan proposed by US President Joe Biden on May 31 is still on the table, but he also indicated a willingness to explore “new frameworks” to seek the release of detainees.
Blinken said that it had not yet been determined whether Hamas was ready to engage in new negotiations, but he urged it to do so.
But many critics of American policy in the United States and abroad believe that the problem is not limited to Hamas, but rather lies in the failure of the Biden administration to put pressure on Israel, which has received billions of dollars in American weapons since the beginning of the war.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the head of the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad), David Barnea, will go to Doha next Sunday, and will meet with the Director of the CIA, William Burns, and the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
The office added, “The parties will discuss multiple options to begin negotiations to release Hamas hostages in light of the latest developments.”
Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas in talks for months, and the negotiations stopped last August without reaching an agreement.
With American support, the ongoing Israeli genocidal war in Gaza, since October 7, 2023, has left more than 143,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
