Qatar, US and Israel hold meeting in New York: Report
Qatar, the US and Israel held a meeting in New York on Sunday to rebuild relations after Israel in September conducted illegal air strikes in Doha, according to media reports.
US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, hosted the meeting with a senior Qatari official and David Barnea, the head of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, according to two sources cited by Axios who are familiar with the matter.
The meeting took place as several reports show that preparations for phase two of the Gaza peace process are underway, and it is said to be the highest-level meeting between the countries since Israel’s strikes on Doha on 9 September.
Axios also reported that Israel plans to use the meeting to discuss other concerns, such as Al Jazeera’s reporting, which Israel says is hostile towards them, Qatar's perceived support of the Muslim Brotherhood, and its alleged support for the pro-Palestine movement on university campuses.
Qatar has been a key mediator in talks to end Israel’s war on Gaza, but took a step back after Israel violated Qatar’s sovereignty by conducting the air strikes in Doha.
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The air strikes hit a building where Hamas leaders were evaluating ceasefire proposals, and killed six people, including one Qatari national.
Qatar has maintained that the US did not give Doha prior notice about the strikes and was notified by the US only ten minutes after the strikes.
'A critical moment'
US President Donald Trump made Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu call Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to apologise for the strikes when he visited the White House on 29 September.
The Trump administration also signed a security guarantee with Qatar in the aftermath of the strikes.
The Qataris have since resumed their mediation role, but relations between Israel and Qatar continue to remain strained.
Thani said at the Doha Forum conference in Qatar on Saturday that peace deal negotiations could not yet be considered “a ceasefire” and - along with Egypt - called on Israel to withdraw from Gaza.
"We are at a critical moment,” Thani said. “It's not yet there. So what we have just done is a pause."
"We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire. A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, [and] there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out - which is not the case today."
Israel is currently occupying 56 percent of the Gaza Strip and has killed more than 360 people since the "ceasefire" was announced on 10 October. Over 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war on the enclave, which has been recognised as a genocide by the United Nations, world leaders, historians, and human rights organisations.
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