Doha
\nMomentum has returned to the Gaza peace talks and an agreement is possible before Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration in January, Qatar\u2019s prime minister has said.
\nSpeaking at the annual Doha forum, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the two key issues were whether there was willingness to have a prisoner hostage exchange, and whether there was a desire to end the war.
\nHe said Qatar had stepped back from its role of mediator a few months ago because some countries were exploiting the process for political reasons, but added: \u201cThere had been a lot of encouragement to secure a deal before the president comes to office so we are trying to get things back on track.\u201d
\nHe said the gaps between Hamas and Israel were not substantial, but that he was trying to protect the negotiations because in the past everything had been put into the public domain, leading to disappointment.<\/p>\n
Al Thani implied that he had received assurances from the US president-elect\u2019s advisers about their determination to reach a negotiated settlement. He said: \u201cWe have sensed after the election that the momentum is coming back.\u201d Comparing Trump\u2019s approach with that of Joe Biden, he said: \u201cThere will be some differences, but we did not see any disagreement on the goal of ending the war. That was very important for us to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is understood the disagreements between Hamas and Israel largely revolve around whether Israel is prepared to accept that a ceasefire reflects a permanent end to the conflict, and not a temporary respite in which there is an exchange of Palestinian political prisoners and Israeli hostages.
\nThis issue has dogged the talks for months, but the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, may feel his options are more limited if Trump insists he wants the war to be brought to an end. Israel has been silent on its future intentions for the administration of Gaza.
\nReferring to the spread of the conflict, Al Thani said: \u201cWe have been trying to warn everyone in the world that the situation in Gaza is going to expand.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Doha Momentum has returned to the Gaza peace talks and an agreement is possible before Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration in January, Qatar\u2019s prime minister has said. Speaking at the annual Doha forum, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the two key issues were whether there was willingness to have a prisoner hostage exchange, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-448060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n