Qatar willing to contribute to Gaza peacekeeping force, says Trump after meeting emir
US President Donald Trump with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani Photograph: (AFP)
Leaders of militias operating in areas under Israeli control in the Gaza Strip said they oppose any involvement of Qatari or Turkish forces in post-war Gaza. Hussam al-Astal, the leader of a militia in the Khan Younis area, said that Turkey “supports Hamas and protects Hamas.”
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Qatar is willing to contribute peacekeeping troops for Gaza if needed and praised the Gulf nation as a great ally and key player in regional stability. Trump also said that efforts to stabilize Gaza were advancing and that an international force would be deployed soon. Trump met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani during a refuelling stop in Doha. “This should be an enduring peace,” Trump told reporters when asked about the situation in Gaza. He praised Qatar as a great ally and key player in regional stability and said the Gulf nation would be willing to contribute peacekeeping troops if needed.
Trump met Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani aboard Air Force One while refuelling in the Gulf State en route to Malaysia and hailed him as “one of the great rulers of the world, not just the Middle East.”
“He’s beloved and respected by his country. I don’t know what’s more important, being loved or respected?” Trump asks the emir, “Do you have a preference? Because you have both, you’re one of the few.”
Gesturing toward the emir and Qatari PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Trump said, “We have done a lot together, especially in the last year… Peace to the Middle East, and they were a very big factor in it.”
“We express our thanks, and you have a safe Middle East right now, and you’re going to keep it that way for a very long time,” Trump adds.
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Anti-Hamas militias oppose Turkish, Qatari role in post-war Gaza
Leaders of militias operating in areas under Israeli control in the Gaza Strip told Channel 12 that they oppose any involvement of Qatari or Turkish forces in post-war Gaza.
Hussam al-Astal, the leader of a militia in the Khan Younis area, said that Turkey “supports Hamas and protects Hamas,” and says he considers both Turkey and Qatar to be “war criminals.”
“Anyone who helps us against Hamas will be welcomed. Hamas brought destruction upon Israel and upon the Gaza Strip,” he added.
“During the war, when a gunman hid among the tents, Israel would kill him, and then people would say that Israel murdered children. The one responsible for the deaths of women and children in Gaza is Hamas, not Israel,” he asserts.
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Rasan al-Dahini from Yasser Abu Shabab’s militia in Rafah, said, “Turkey is not working for peace; they openly and explicitly support Hamas.”
