Tel Aviv [Israel], May 4: In a post on the X platform, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Qatar, one of three countries acting as an intermediary between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"It is time for Qatar to stop playing double-talk and decide whether it is on the side of civilization or Hamas," Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wrote on May 3.
Israeli officials recently said that Qatar was urging Hamas not to accept the terms of the Egyptian -proposed ceasefire , suggesting that the group should wait for better terms, according to The Times of Israel .
Qatar dismissed Netanyahu 's statements as "provocative." "The State of Qatar firmly rejects the provocative statements issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which do not meet the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari posted on X on May 4.
Mr Al-Ansari criticised the portrayal of the conflict in Gaza as a defence of civilisation, saying "false narratives only serve to justify crimes against civilians".
In his post, Mr. Al-Ansari wrote that Qatar was being unfairly criticized. He also stressed the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza due to the suffocating blockade, accusing Israel of using humanitarian aid as a tool of political coercion.
Despite efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to revive the ceasefire, neither Israel nor Hamas has been willing to give in to core demands. Israel wants Hamas to return the remaining 59 hostages it is still holding, and insists that the group disarm and be excluded from any future role in Gaza - a condition that Hamas rejects.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
