Qatar warns next phase of Gaza truce hinges on Israel’s full troop withdrawal

DOHA, Dec 6 — The nearly two-month-old ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will not be complete until Israeli troops withdraw from the Palestinian territory under a peace plan backed by Washington and the UN, mediator Qatar’s prime minister said today. 

“Now we are at the critical moment… A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces, (and) there is stability back in Gaza,” Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum, an annual diplomatic conference in the Gulf state’s capital.

Qatar, alongside the United States and Egypt, helped secure the long-elusive truce in Gaza, which came into effect on October 10 and has mostly halted two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Under a second phase of the deal, which has yet to begin, Israel is to withdraw from its positions in the territory, an interim authority is to take over governance, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be deployed.

Arab and Muslim nations have been hesitant to participate in the new stabilisation force, which could end up fighting Palestinian militants.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, also speaking at the forum, said talks on the force were ongoing and critical questions remained as to its command structure and which countries would contribute.

But its first goal, Fidan said, “should be to separate Palestinians from the Israelis”.

“This should be our main objective. Then we can address the other remaining issues,” he added.

Hamas is also supposed to disarm under the 20-point plan first outlined by US President Donald Trump, with members who decommission their weapons allowed to leave Gaza. The militant group has repeatedly rejected the proposition.

Turkey has indicated it wants to take part in the stabilisation force, but its efforts are viewed unfavourably in Israel, which considers Ankara too close to Hamas.

“I think the only viable way to finish this war is to engage faithfully and forcefully in peace talks,” Fidan said.

Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar and fellow truce guarantors Turkey, Egypt and the US were “getting together in order to force the way forward for the next phase” of the deal.

“And this next phase is just also temporary from our perspective,” he said.

“If we are… just resolving what happened in the last two years, it’s not enough,” he continued, calling for a “lasting solution that provides justice for both people”. — AFP