Israel, Hamas, Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been negotiating the Gaza ceasefire agreement for months without success. Qatar plans to return to the negotiating table only when Hamas and Israel get serious about promoting peace in Gaza.
16:31•Updated 16:50
Qatar withdraws from Gaza ceasefire talks, news agencies AFP and Reuters report citing diplomatic sources.
According to a source who spoke to AFP, Qatar will no longer act as a mediator between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations.
According to AFP, Qatar notified Israel, Hamas and the United States on Saturday.
Hamas announced on Saturday evening that it has not received information about Qatar’s decision to leave the peace mediation.
Qatar has also informed the extremist organization Hamas that its office in Doha no longer serves its purpose, the source said.
CNN: Qatar kicked out Hamas leaders
Qatar argued that it will not agree to be a peace mediator if the parties are not sincere about reaching an agreement.
– Because of this, also the office of the political wing of Hamas [Dohassa] no longer serves its purpose, the source said, according to AFP.
Leaders of the political wing of Hamas have been allowed to live in Qatar for years.
American CNN said earlier Saturday that Qatar ordered senior Hamas political leaders to leave the country several weeks ago.
According to a Qatari source, the country is ready to return to the negotiating table if Hamas and Israel get serious about promoting peace in Gaza.
Israel, Hamas, Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been negotiating the Gaza ceasefire agreement for months without success.
Qatar has played an important role as a peace broker. According to Reuters, the country’s withdrawal from the talks is the worst setback to ceasefire talks since the start of the Gaza war.
Sources: AFP, Reuters