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SvennoJ on 31 July 2024
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‘Can mediation succeed when one side assassinates negotiator?’: Qatar PM

The prime minister of Qatar, which has acted as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, has questioned the chances for negotiations to succeed following the assassination of Haniyeh.

“How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on X. “Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life,” he added.

‘Israel, Lebanon and Iran will have to bury more people’

Israeli analyst Akiva Eldar says the Haniyeh assassination will only lead to more bloodshed in the Middle East.

“It’s a vicious cycle. We have here three partners who are not looking at resolving the conflict. There is no responsible adult in Washington, or elsewhere, who is willing to put leverage on Israel and force us to go back to the negotiating table,” Eldar told Al Jazeera.

“The graveyards of the Middle East are full of senior Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian leaders who couldn’t be replaced. But they have been replaced.”

Eldar said the willingness of the US to allow Israeli leaders such as Benjamin Netanyahu to conduct regional aggression is the main issue at hand.

“It puts us far away from any kind of diplomatic settlement. So as long as the United States is busy with its elections and domestic issues and is unwilling to use its leverage to force Netanyahu to start with a ceasefire in Gaza and a deal that will bring the captives back home, Israel, Lebanon and Iran will have to bury more people.”



Haniyeh killing flagrant violation of international laws: Iraq

Iraq has also condemned “in the strongest terms” the assassination of the Hamas chief. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said the “aggressive operation is a flagrant violation of international laws and a threat” to regional security and stability.

“It expresses its full solidarity with the Palestinian people and their leadership in these difficult moments, calling on the international community to assume its responsibilities and take the necessary measures to stop the repeated attacks and violations of the sovereignty of states,” the ministry added.



Egypt says Israeli escalation indicates no political will for ceasefire

A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has said the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with the lack of progress in the ceasefire talks, complicates the situation.



Blinken says Gaza ceasefire is ‘imperative’ after Hamas chief killing

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that a ceasefire in Gaza was the “imperative”, after the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

Speaking at a forum in Singapore, Blinken refused to comment directly on the killing of Haniyeh, but he said reaching a ceasefire in Gaza “is the enduring imperative”.