Qatar describes as "very minor" the pending points for an agreement to release hostages in Gaza

Borrell reiterates that "one horror does not justify another horror" and calls for "political efforts" to resolve the conflict

MADRID, 19 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government of Qatar has stated this Sunday that there are "very minor" points left in order to finalize an agreement between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for the release of dozens of hostages taken during the October 7 attacks in exchange for a pause of several days in the fighting.

The Qatari Prime Minister, Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al Zani, pointed out in a press conference with the High Representative of the European Union for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, that "the pending points regarding an agreement are purely practical and logistics".

Al Zani, who also heads the Qatari Foreign Ministry, has denounced that "with every minute that passes, the humanitarian, moral and legal disaster continues to grow" and has added that "the bloodshed continues to increase in the face of the community's attempts to stop and put an end to the aggression (of Israel against the Gaza Strip).

Thus, it has aimed at "an agreement on the means of cooperation between Qatar and the EU to achieve a permanent and peaceful solution to the crisis in all its political and humanitarian dimensions", while demanding "the end of all types of mass extermination, hunger and forced displacement, as well as the withdrawal of the unjust siege" of the Palestinian enclave.

"Israel does not respect international laws, conventions and practices," stressed Al Zani, who has accused the Israeli Army of "destroying hospitals" and "forcing patients, wounded, doctors and displaced people to leave the facilities." "What happened at Al Shifa Hospital is not a coincidence," he maintained.

"Hundreds of sick people and dozens of newborn children and humanitarian workers, along with thousands of refugees, have been held, which is a crime. Unfortunately, we have not heard a single word from the international community about this," he said. , while condemning the recent attack on the Al Fajura school, which left dozens dead, as "a continuation of the massacres of civilians" in Gaza.

For his part, Borrell has recognized the "very complicated" situation in the region after arriving in Qatar as part of a tour of the region, in which he has addressed ways to "stop the suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza and Israel." . "Now, the concentration of pain, people dying and civilian casualties is in Gaza," he said.

Borrell, who has highlighted the "constructive role" of Doha in trying to foster "peace and stability", has stressed that Qatar is playing "an "important facilitating role" in terms of an agreement for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"I take this opportunity again to ask for the unconditional release of all the hostages and for the Red Cross and Red Crescent to be allowed access to them," said Borrell, who stressed that the attacks of October 7 were " the largest massacre of Jews since World War II.

However, the head of EU diplomacy has emphasized the "horrible humanitarian situation" in Gaza and has criticized the recent Israeli bombing of a school in the Strip. "There is no hierarchy between horrors and one horror does not justify another horror. The pain you cause another's children does not justify or compensate for the pain your children have suffered," he argued.

Borrell has warned that "on the contrary, this will create a spiral of violence that will be repeated again and again" and has argued that, to avoid this, it is necessary to "achieve sustainable peace." For this reason, he has reiterated his call for "immediate humanitarian pauses" and has recalled that the resolutions of the UN Security Council "are not just words, but mandatory compliance."

"Too many lives are being lost every day," he lamented, while calling on Israel to "respect International Humanitarian Law" and "show maximum restraint towards civilians." "The number of victims, particularly the number of children, makes us believe that much more must be done to preserve the lives of civilians," she stressed.

In this way, he has defended the efforts to try to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and has said that, although this is "essential", it involves "treating the symptoms." "It doesn't make much sense to give someone food only to have them die the next day. You have to address the causes," she explained.

"We have to make the humanitarian stage a first step for the political stage," said Borrell, who emphasized that "the two-state solution is the only viable path." "We have been asking for it for more than 30 years," he recalled, before emphasizing that "it is not only a peace between Arab States and Israel, but between Palestinians and Israelis."

"Otherwise, the crisis will continue to affect the entire world and European society," stressed the head of EU diplomacy, who has warned of the increase in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. "This has to stop to maintain peace between us, within our societies and in the countries of the Middle East," he added.

Borrell has recognized that this requires "incredible efforts not only on an economic level, since Gaza has been rebuilt several times, but a political investment to build a State", a process in which "the Palestinian Authority has an important role to play." . "Palestinians deserve dignity, Israelis deserve security and both deserve to live in peace and security on the same land," she concluded.

Israel launched its offensive against the enclave after the attacks carried out on October 7 by Hamas, which left nearly 1,200 dead and some 240 kidnapped. Authorities in the Strip, controlled by the Islamist group, have reported 12,300 deaths, including more than 5,000 children, while more than 180 Palestinians have died at the hands of Israeli security forces and in attacks by settlers in the West Bank. and East Jerusalem.