Donald Trump wants Gaza ceasefire deal by the time he takes power, says Qatari PM
4 December 2024, 19:48
The US president-elect is pushing for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas before he retakes office in January, says the Qatari PM.
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The Qatari PM said that the incoming US President wants a ceasefire deal done before his inauguration on January 20.
Qatar has been at the centre of ceasefire negotiations, acting as a mediator between the two parties in an effort to end the war that has devastated Gaza.
The Qatari PM was cautiously optimistic, but said a deal required "maximum pressure" on all parties to stop fighting.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani said Donald Trump's advisers and incoming administration said they want to see the situation resolved by the January 20 inauguration.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr al Thani said: “We are trying to coordinate with them our efforts, and all of us, we agree, and we are hoping to get over this situation before the president comes to the office,”
He said Trump’s team “want this to be resolved now - today even.”
Mr al Thani also defended Hamas being allowed to continue operating its political office from Doha, Qatar's capital.
Mr al Thani said it was set up "with full transparency and coordination, and at the request of the US and Israel at that time to have this as to be used as a negotiation platform".
He stressed that Qatar had achieved multiple ceasefires since 2014.
"There are tons of situations where we have prevented an escalation from the beginning in order not to put ourselves in a situation like what we ended up with on 7 October," he said.
The prime minister added: "There will always be criticism, a lot of parties who will not like this kind of policy, yes, but it's needed."
It comes after Trump issued a threat on Monday, saying there will be ‘hell to pay’ if captives in Gaza are not released by the time he retakes the White House.
In a post to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,”
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he wrote.
The threat does offers no specifics on what exactly the US would do, or if it means Trump is considering deploying the US military. It also only mentions captives held by Hamas, without mentioning Palestinian civilians who have been killed or taken hostage by Israel since fighting began.
Both Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas have been accused of breaking down negotiations aimed at achieving a ceasefire for months.
Hamas has repeatedly offered to release hostages held in Gaza in return for an end to the war, but the Israeli government has vowed to continue its assault until Hamas is totally defeated.
At least 44,500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its war following the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that killed at least 1,139 people in Israel.
Hamas took more than 200 people captive, and Israeli authorities claim 101 of them remain in Gaza, and Hamas says 33 have been killed since the start of the war.
The Biden administration is currently mounting a last-ditch effort to try to restart talks between Israel and Hamas now that it has brokered a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
