DOHA: Official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)Dr Majed bin Mohammad Al Ansari has stressed the need to stop what is happening in the Gaza Strip immediately and not in the coming days, calling on the international community to assume its responsibilities and confront each of the crimes committed by the occupying authority individually.
He noted that the escalation in Rafah is unacceptable and directly contributes to expanding the cycle of violence, targeting civilians, and prolonging the disaster.
He referred to statistics from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which said that more than 900,000 people fled to Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, due to military operations, in addition to the operations in Jabalia, its destruction, and the direct targeting of civilians there. He pointed out in this context the third and fourth displacement of Palestinians only within the framework of this escalation.
During the weekly media briefing organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Dr Al Ansari reiterated that any escalation in the Gaza Strip would hinder efforts to end the crisis, pointing out that the situation there had reached what he called “the bottom of the humanitarian catastrophe,” expressing his regret that “this bottom continues to decline daily", stressing that the Israeli side must not be left militarily on the ground to do what it wants.
Regarding the role of the seaport in bringing aid into the Gaza Strip, Dr Al Ansari pointed out the constant assertion of Qatar, since the first day of the war, that there is no alternative to opening all crossings and not closing them in any way. From a procedural and logistical standpoint, transporting aid via land is the best way to enter the largest amount of it permanently, and all other ways, whether air or sea, are less efficient.
In this context, he noted that Qatar supported all forms of aid entering the Gaza Strip and ensuring its continuity, pointing at the same time to Qatar’s categorical rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians from their lands, a position it shares with most peace-loving countries in the world, and its rejection of there being a second Nakba for the people of Palestine by deporting them from their land, in any way.
Regarding his comment on the move of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against the Israeli prime minister, his minister of defence, and three Hamas leaders on charges of committing “war crimes,” the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that such situations require looking at them in their general context, which is the failure of the international community to remain silent.
On the violence taking place against civilians, he pointed out that Qatar affirmed from the first day of the war its rejection of any targeting of civilians, its permanent commitment to supporting international law and all the agreements signed by it, its support for the principles of accountability and justice in the international community in general, and the necessity of not pre-empting events in what the court will decide. Regarding these requests, he pointed out at the same time that Qatar is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Regarding developments in the situation in the West Bank, Dr Al Ansari said that before the events of October 7 and the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip, there were continuous and clear violations of human rights and international law, with global disregard for the tragedy of the Palestinian people in general, adding that if the crisis situation, the humanitarian catastrophe and the ongoing crimes in the Gaza Strip occupies the lion's share of attention.
Qatar's position is firm on the need to stop violations in the West Bank, which exposes the entire region to very serious repercussions regarding the security of the region. The Palestinian people in the West Bank suffer daily from violations and attacks by settlers, and even by the state and its various agencies.
Dr Al Ansari stressed the need for the international community to stand up to the situation in the West Bank, which cannot be linked to what happened on October 7.
These violations and attacks are intended to weaken the will of the Palestinian people and weaken the state of steadfastness and survival, and this matter has proven its historical failure in achieving the desire of the occupier, explaining that the Palestinian people are not an exception to this, as they have been resisting and proving their presence on their land since the first day of the Israeli occupation, and that such repeated attempts to weaken the Palestinian situation will only lead to failure, and more security challenges for Israel. He stressed at the same time the need not to allow Israel to exploit the world's preoccupation with what is happening in the Gaza Strip to commit more violations in the West Bank and the rest of the Palestinian territories.
Regarding the efforts of Qatar to exempt its citizens from entry visas to countries in the Schengen Area without conditions, Dr Al Ansari explained that this issue is still under its procedural framework by the European Union, and the Qatari diplomatic apparatus is working at various levels in this framework, to ensure the achievement of as many agreements as possible that guarantee the ease of movement and movement of the Qatari citizen abroad. He stressed that the Qatari passport has a high international status, that Qatari citizens move comfortably in many countries of the world, and that efforts are continuing to enhance the status of the Qatari passport because this is among the priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr Al Ansari reviewed the efforts of the ministry and its officials, their meetings, their participation in regional and international events, and the statements issued by the state as a result of some emergency events, including the launch of the work of the Global Security Forum, and the opening speech by Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, as well as his meeting with several ministers and international and UN officials.
Dr Al Ansari touched on the tour of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs HE Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi to several Central American countries such as Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, where he will hold political consultations.
He also reviewed the efforts of Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater. The work of the high-level strategic dialogue between Qatar and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, her bilateral meetings with several Iraqi and Lebanese officials, and her upcoming visit to Sweden and Brussels to participate in a conference on supporting Syria and the region.
Dr Al Ansari reviewed the efforts of Qatar in humanitarian aid with the arrival of an aid plane within the framework of the air bridge to the Gaza Strip, carrying 40 tonnes, bringing the total number of planes to 96 planes that have carried 4,766 tonnes of aid so far. As for Afghanistan, the fifth plane arrived there carrying 42 tonnes of food aid and medical supplies, bringing the total aid to 167 tonnes.
DrAl Ansari mentioned statements issued by Qatar this week, including a statement strongly condemning an Israeli minister’s call to activate settlements and prevent humanitarian aid from the Gaza Strip, another strongly condemning the attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister of Slovakia, and a third strongly condemning the coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Dr Al Ansari began the media briefing by offering condolences to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the death ofPresident HE Dr Ebrahim Raisi and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Hossein Amir Abdullahian, and the officials accompanying them, following the crash of the helicopter in which they were travelling on Monday. He referredto the condolence telegrams presented by His Highness the Amir, His Highness the Deputy Emir, and HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who also made a phone call with the acting Iranian Foreign Minister.
