Israel calls on Qatar to 'stop playing both sides' in Gaza talks

4/5/2025 13:52

Israel called on Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, to "stop playing both sides with its double talk and decide if it's on the side of civilization or if it's on the side of Hamas", the Israeli Prime Minister's office said on Saturday.



Qatar rejected the statements as "inflammatory".



Despite efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to restore a ceasefire, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal. Israel, which wants the return of 59 hostages still held in Gaza, has insisted Hamas must disarm and be excluded from any role in the future governance of the enclave, a condition that Hamas rejects.



It has insisted on agreeing a lasting end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces as a condition for a deal that would see a release of the hostages. Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari posted on X early on Sunday, "The State of Qatar firmly rejects the inflammatory statements issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which fall far short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility."



Al-Ansari criticized the portrayal of the Gaza conflict as a defense of civilization, likening it to historical regimes that used "false narratives to justify crimes against civilians."