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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recording released by Channel 12 television that he does not trust Qatar, which is acting as an intermediary in negotiations between his country and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas. According to The Times of Israel, Qatar responded that it was “horrified” by Netanyahu’s words.
Qatar has acted as a mediator since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the EU and US, helping, for example, to negotiate the release of some Israeli hostages in November in exchange for a week’s ceasefire. At the same time, high-ranking Hamas officials have long lived in the Middle Eastern country.
In the recording, Netanyahu speaks to the families of the abductees and addresses Qatar with, among other things, the following words: “You can’t hear me thanking Qatar… It’s basically nothing other than the UN or the Red Cross, and “In some ways it’s even more problematic – I have no illusions about it.” The Israeli prime minister also notes that Qatar funds Hamas, that it could do more for a hostage deal and that it does not trust the country.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry called Netanyahu’s statement irresponsible. If he did say them, Qatar would be undermining efforts to save lives and preventing a deal from being brokered, apparently to save his career.
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