(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Irfan Bukhari
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The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani announced that the joint mediation efforts by Qatar, Egypt and the US has reached an agreement for a ceasefire deal between the two parties to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Addressing a press conference in Doha yesterday, the Prime Minister said that agreement is on the exchange of prisoners and hostages and the return to sustainable calm leading to a permanent ceasefire between the two sides.
He said that this is in addition to delivering large quantities of humanitarian and relief aid to our Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip.
He thanked the partners in Egypt and the United States, especially the US President-elect's Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkof and Coordinator for Middle East and North Africa Affairs at the US National Security Council, Brett McGurk for their efforts that contributed to moving the negotiations forward and reaching this agreement.
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“Many thanks to the brothers and the work team from the Egypt and to Minister Hassan Al Rashad, who contributed and worked hard in partnership with their Qatari brothers to achieve this agreement.”
He said,“With the approval of both sides and the negotiating parties to this agreement, work is underway to complete all executive procedures during this night. Then, after that, the internal procedures will be completed by the Israeli government. After that, the implementation of the agreement will begin on Sunday, January 19, 2025.”
As for the details of the agreement, the Prime Minister said, the first phase of the agreement, which lasts for 42 days, will witness a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces eastward and away from the populated areas to be stationed on the borders in all areas of the Gaza Strip, the exchange of families and hostages.
“A specific mechanism will remain for the exchange of the remains of the deceased, the return of the displaced to their places of residence, and facilitation of the departure of the sick and wounded to receive treatment.”
The Prime Minister said that the first phase also includes intensifying the delivery of humanitarian aid and its safe and effective distribution on a large scale throughout the Gaza Strip, rehabilitating hospitals, health centers and bakeries, bringing in civil defense supplies and fuel, and bringing in shelter supplies for the displaced who lost their homes due to the war.
“According to the agreement, Hamas will release in the first phase 33 Israeli detainees, including civilian women, female soldiers, children, elderly, sick and wounded civilians, in exchange for a number of Palestinian families in Israeli prisons and detention centers.”
He said that the details of the second and third phases will be agreed upon after the implementation of the first phase.“Qatar stresses the necessity of the two parties' full commitment to implementing the agreement in its three phases, to spare the blood of civilians, spare the region the consequences of this conflict, and pave the way for achieving a just and sustainable peace.”
He noted that Qatar will continue to work jointly with Egypt and the US to ensure that the parties implement their obligations and ensure the continuation of negotiations to implement the remaining stages.
“We look forward to regional and international efforts to provide humanitarian aid and support the United Nations in bringing in and delivering aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. Qatar will spare no effort in providing support to our afflicted families in the Gaza Strip and everything necessary to alleviate the suffering of the people of the Strip.”
He added:“Since October 8, 2023 we have spared no effort in Qatar, under the directives and direct follow-up of H H the Amir, to do everything possible, and we continued day and night to reach this moment.”
“Since the mediation succeeded in stopping the first fighting in November (2023) and releasing 109 hostages in exchange for a number of families for the Palestinians, we have been working continuously to ensure reaching an agreement that spares the blood of innocents, stops the war machine, and restores hope to our region for a future of security and to the peoples of the region and the opportunity to dream of a better future.”
He further said:“For 411 days, meetings and contacts continued with our partners and the two parties to the conflict, and today we have reached this long-awaited moment, but it is only the beginning, and the responsibility now lies with the parties, with the support of the mediation and the international community, to ensure the peace and this is what our efforts will focus on in the next stage.”
He said,“I remind our people and brothers in the Gaza Strip that the State of Qatar will always continue to support the Palestinian brothers and that this issue is under the direct care of H H the Amir.”
Responding to a question about the timing of the ceasefire deal, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said,“We've been raising the question of the right moment for the entire period since the collapse of the first phase (referring to November 2023 deal). But we have seen a momentum that started to build in the last month and we kept pushing for that, working together very closely with our partners.”
“I can say that what we have seen from the US in the past few days, seeing a collaboration transcending both administrations (Biden and incoming Trump administration), was a clear demonstration for the commitment of the US to reach to that deal.
“And I really would like to thank both the envoys (referring to US President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Coordinator for Middle East and North Africa at the US National Security Council (NSC) Brett McGurk) who are here with us in the last couple of days, and they played a vital role in reaching to this moment.”
“And of course, for us and Egypt, this is something that we are a stakeholder in that conflict that we have to do it and we have to help and support. But we have seen the steps that's been taken recently from the US has yielded to this moment.”
To another question, he said:“We will continue to do everything we can, everything possible together with our partners to ensure that this deal is implemented as it is agreed. And this deal will bring us peace, hopefully, at the end of it. I believe that it all depends on the parties of the agreement, and acting in good faith in that agreement in order to ensure that no collapse happening to that deal.”
Regarding mechanisms in place to ensure that neither side breaks the ceasefire, he said:“There is a follow up mechanism that Egypt, Qatar and the US are going to handle; it will be placed in Cairo. And this follow up actually will be a joint-team from the three countries that will monitor the implementation of the agreement and everything is being agreed upon and will be in place hopefully on the day of the execution.”
When asked what will happen if elements of the agreement put in place are violated, he said that there will be a follow up mechanism that will be placed in Egypt and they will follow up the implementation of the agreement.
“There will be a reporting mechanism for any violation and those violations will be addressed at a very early stage. We expect from the parties to adhere to the agreement.
“We expect the parties to stay committed to what they have committed themselves to in that agreement. But we know that these kinds of agreements are very complex and will have some issues down the line. And we are ready and we will stay committed to address those issues ahead of time.”
To another question, he said that unfortunately, the (truce) agreement in November 2023 was very transactional, so it was like a day by day.“But this agreement has a clear mechanism for the first 42 days and there is a clear mechanism to negotiate phase two and three and all the details of the agreements will be published in the next couple of days once the details are finalised.”
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