Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said today that the ceasefire to end the war in the Gaza Strip has reached a "critical moment", with the plan set to enter its next phase.
Al Thani told the Doha Forum international conference that mediators in the peace talks, led by the United States (US), were working "to pave the way" for the second phase of the plan, which would solidify the agreement.
"What we have just done is a pause," he said, adding that it still "cannot be considered a ceasefire."
Al-Thani added that "the ceasefire cannot be completed unless Israeli forces completely withdraw (from the Gaza Strip), until stability is established in Gaza and until people are able to enter and exit, which is not the case today."
Although a ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement came into effect on October 10, health officials in the Gaza Strip, led by Hamas, claim that more than 360 Palestinians have been killed in continued Israeli attacks.
The first phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan included the exchange of war prisoners, while the second includes the deployment of an international military force in Gaza, the formation of a new technocratic government for the territory, the disarmament of Hamas and the eventual withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza.
Al Thani said that even the upcoming phase of the ceasefire should be "temporary," so that peace in the region can be established with the establishment of an independent Palestine.
"If we just address what happened in Gaza, the catastrophe that has happened in the last two years, that is not enough. There is a root of this conflict. And this conflict is not just about Gaza," he said, adding that conflicts continue in the occupied West Bank, and that he hopes to work with Washington "so that we can ultimately achieve this vision (of a Palestinian state)."
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at the same conference that the formation of an international army, which should be deployed in the Gaza Strip, is a "big issue."
He added that it is not clear which countries will join these units, as well as what their structure and mission will be.
Turkey is one of the most important representatives and guarantors of the ceasefire, while Jerusalem, which has problematic relations with the government in Ankara, rejects any participation of that country in these negotiations.
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