The Israeli Finance Minister, a far-right figure, accused Qatar, one of the key players in negotiations with Hamas, on Thursday January 25 of being
“responsible”
for the October 7 attack.
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“Qatar is a country that supports and finances terrorism
,” he said.
The emirate
“is the godfather of Hamas and is largely responsible for the massacres committed by Hamas on Israeli citizens,” Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the
“Religious Zionism”
party, said on X (ex-Twitter)
.
“One thing is clear: Qatar will not be involved in any way in what happens in Gaza after the war
. ”
Debate is growing in Israel over the best way to secure the release of hostages still held by Hamas as military operations intensify in the southern Gaza Strip.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States are trying to mediate to obtain a new truce, allow the release of the hostages still being held and deliver more humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
"Obstacle"
According to a Palestinian source close to the discussions, a Hamas delegation left for Cairo on Tuesday to meet the head of Egyptian intelligence on the ceasefire proposals.
The Hamas political office said Thursday that Doha was
“actively involved”
in negotiations for exchanges between Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages.
These Israeli statements are
“an obstacle to the conclusion of an agreement”
, he continued in a press release.
On Wednesday, Israeli Channel 12 broadcast an audio recording of the Israeli Prime Minister with families of hostages, in which Benjamin Netanyahu considers
Doha's role
“problematic” .
“I have no illusions about them
,” he said.
The Qataris
“have the means to put pressure (on Hamas, Editor’s note).
And why?
Because they finance them
.
In return, Qatar said it was
“dismayed”
, deeming these remarks
“irresponsible and harmful to efforts to save innocent lives”
.
Doha hosts the political leadership of Hamas and has in recent years granted hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the population of Gaza, under Hamas control since 2007.