JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday (Jan 25) accused Qatar, a key mediator in efforts to free its hostages, of being accountable for the Oct 7 Hamas assault.
His feedback got here after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was caught on tape allegedly telling hostages’ households this week that Qatar’s mediation was “problematic” when it got here to resolving the hostage disaster.
Qatar is the “patron of Hamas and is essentially accountable for the bloodbath dedicated by Hamas of Israeli residents”, Smotrich stated on X, previously Twitter.
“Qatar is a rustic that helps terrorism and funds terrorism.”
Smotrich accused Western governments of being “hypocritical” in sustaining shut relations with Doha.
“The West can and will exert a lot stronger leverage on it and convey concerning the launch of the hostages instantly,” he stated.
“One factor is obvious: Qatar won’t be concerned one bit in what happens in Gaza the day after the war.”
Qatar and Egypt have acted as mediators within the battle because it erupted after the Hamas assault. In November, they helped broker a week-long truce that saw the release of 105 hostages, the Israelis amongst them in change for Palestinian prisoners.
Smotrich’s remarks come as US President Joe Biden’s Center East envoy Brett McGurk was within the area for talks geared toward brokering a new deal to free the remaining captives in change for a pause in preventing.
A Palestinian supply conversant in the talks stated a Hamas delegation had travelled to Cairo on Tuesday to satisfy Egypt’s intelligence chief and focus on new ceasefire proposals.
On Wednesday, Qatar stated it was “appalled” by the remarks attributed to Netanyahu.
“These remarks, if validated, are irresponsible and damaging to the efforts to save lots of harmless lives, however should not shocking,” Qatari overseas ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari stated on X.
The Hamas assault resulted within the deaths of round 1,140 folks in Israel, largely civilians, in response to an AFP tally primarily based on Israeli figures.
The militants, who focused communities in southern Israel, additionally kidnapped about 250 hostages in the course of the assault.
Some 132 of them are nonetheless held captive in Gaza, together with 28 our bodies of hostages believed to have been killed, in response to an AFP tally primarily based on figures supplied by Israeli officers.
