The Qatari and Turkish officials have called out the double-standard approach with regards to the war on Gaza.
Qatar and Turkiye called out “backers” of Israel’s war in Gaza during a press conference in Doha on Wednesday, as Tel Aviv’s intense bombardment of the besieged Palestinian enclave pushed the death toll beyond the 6,000 figure.
“Those who encourage Israel’s crimes under the guise of solidarity are partners in crime in the Gaza Strip,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the press at the Musheireb Diwan in Doha.
Fidan’s remarks came in a joint press conference with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in which both sides called out the double-standard approach towards the ongoing war on Gaza.
Fidan is on a regional tour that has seen him stop off in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, in an attempt to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. In Doha, the Turkish official met with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Addressing the press in Qatar, Fidan pointed to Israel’s continuous disregard to all criticism and said it has been “doing whatever it wants” for years.
“The crisis this time is huge, there are many major risks and the political solution must not be postponed,” Fidan said.
Since the start of the aggression on 7 October, the IOF has killed at least 6,546 Palestinians, including more than 2,000 children, with more than 1,000 believed to be still trapped under the rubble.
The United States has been actively backing the Israeli war on Gaza under the pretext of Israel’s “right to self defence”. Washington has provided it with military assistance and went as far as blocking ceasefire proposals at the United Nations.
Turkiye, which shares ties with Israel, has joined a number of regional nations attempting to negotiate a possible pause in Israel’s deadly bombardments as well as efforts to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged Strip.
Growing regional anger
Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammed noted a growing anger among the public in the region as Israel continues to commit atrocities on the ground in Gaza.
“There is growing anger among everyone in that region, questioning the reaction of the international community,” Sheikh Mohammed said in response to a question on the matter by the press.
Separately, Fidan pointed to Israel’s continuous disregard to all criticism and “doing whatever it wants” for years, calling out those who have endorsed the IOF’s bloody bombardment of Gaza.
“Those who encourage Israel’s crimes under the guise of solidarity are partners in crime in the Gaza Strip,” Fidan said , without naming specific sides.
The United States has been actively backing the Israeli war on Gaza under the pretext of Israel’s “right to self defence”, providing it with military assistance and going as far as blocking ceasefire proposals at the United Nations.
On Tuesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi said that they are “well prepared for the ground operations in the south”, reiterating the threats of the ground invasion of Gaza.
Fidan stressed that Israel must reverse its decisions “as a ground war will turn the situation into a complete massacre.”
Sheikh Mohammed further denounced Israel’s “provocative” statements as well as criticism directed towards Qatar.
Double standards
Sheikh Mohammed and Fidan also called out the international double-standard approach towards the bombardment of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza. The Qatari official stressed that the condemnation of the targeting of civilians should be equal.
“If we condemn killing civilians in Israel, we should clearly and equally condemn killing civilians in the Palestinian territory. The number of children that have been killed since the start of this war is exceeding the number of children in the other war between Ukraine and Russia, yet we didn’t see the same reaction,” Sheikh Mohammed stressed.
He also pointed out the world’s acknowledgement that the cutting of electricity and water from Ukraine constituted a war crime though a similar move by Israel has not been granted the same label in Gaza.
Echoing Sheikh Mohammed, Fidan said “that the balances in the world are no more equal and this will worsen the situation.”
The Qatari diplomat also called out the politicisation of aid as Israel continues to place obstacles towards the delivery of urgent assistance to Gaza through the Rafah Crossing.
At least 37 trucks have managed to enter the Palestinian territory from Egypt, though it has been described by humanitarian entities as a mere “drop in the ocean of needs”.
However, none of the trucks included fuel, leaving Gaza without access to electricity.
By Tuesday, Gaza’s health sector officially collapsed due to the lack of resources to treat thousands of injured, with witnesses on the ground saying doctors have been operating on patients without anesthesia.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that one-third of Gaza’s hospitals are non-functional.
The senior Qatar and Turkish officials have slammed the Israeli measures as a form of “collective punishment”.
Captives release breakthrough
Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammed confirmed that a breakthrough in Qatari mediation to release captives held by Hamas in Gaza is possible, though the talks remain ongoing.
On Monday, Qatar and Egypt helped mediate the release of two elderly women from Hamas, 79-year old Nurit Yitzhak and 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz. Their release came days after Qatari mediation resulted in the freedom of two other American captives, identified as Judith Raanan and Natalie Raanan—a mother and a daughter.
The Al-Qassam Brigades—Hamas’ armed wing—had captured at least 200 Israelis, including members of the occupation forces, and a number of western citizens during the 7 October operation ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’.
The historic operation was an unprecedented attack on Israel, in which the Palestinian resistance group broke out from the besieged Gaza Strip and into occupied areas through air, land and sea attacks.
“I think that if we compare where we started and where we are right now, there is some progress and some breakthrough and we will remain hopeful,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
He added: “The negotiations are still ongoing and at any moment of time, I think that if we will be able to get along between the two parties, I think we will see some breakthrough, hopefully soon.”
“We discussed with the Turkish side the necessity of reducing the escalation to reach a complete ceasefire,” the Qatari official said.
Fidan also applauded Qatar’s role to secure the release of the four captives held by Hamas over the last week.
“The crisis this time is huge, there are many major risks and the political solution must not be postponed,” Fidan said.
“The efforts made by Qatar during the past days to release the hostages deserve admiration,” Fidan added.