#ISRAEL #HAMAS #QATAR #EGYPT #NEGOTIATIONS #DONALDTRUMP #MBS #MIDDLEEAST
📹 Rabbani, Mouin ‘Qatar Withdraws from Ceasefire Talks As Middle East Prepares for Trump’ Democracy Now!, 11 Nov 2024<< We speak with Dutch Palestinian analyst Mouin Rabbani about the latest developments in the Middle East as Israel continues its deadly assaults on Gaza and Lebanon. Qatar recently announced it will no longer act as mediator for ceasefire talks, saying the two sides were not serious about reaching a deal to stop the fighting. “This entire process from the outset has been a complete charade,” Rabbani says of the U.S.-backed ceasefire negotiations, urging Egypt to follow suit and also stop acting as a mediator. Rabbani also discusses how a second Trump administration could deal with the region, saying Trump’s “erratic” behavior makes predictions difficult, but that signs point to a more aggressive posture toward Iran. >>

MOUIN RABBANI: Yes. Well, turning to Qatar first, several days ago, there were press reports that Qatar was going to, as you mentioned, suspend its mediation and also show the Hamas exile leadership, that has been based in Qatar, the door and ask them to leave the country in response to U.S. pressure. The expulsion of the Hamas leaders has been denied by Qatar, but it has indeed, as you mentioned, confirmed that it is suspending its — that it is suspending its mediation, saying basically that the parties aren’t serious."

"And I think my own view is that this is something that Qatar and the other mediator, Egypt, as well, should have done months ago, when it became entirely apparent that there never were serious ceasefire negotiations and that this process was essentially serving as a fig leaf for Israel and for the United States to continue with their war of annihilation in the Gaza Strip and deflect criticism by claiming that they’re involved in earnest initiatives to try to put an end to this war."

"As many of your listeners and viewers will know, every time there appears to be progress, the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu shifts the goalposts, and we’re back to the square one. And then Antony Blinken is trotted out to say that Hamas is the obstacle. So I think it’s a good thing that these — at least that Qatar has suspended its efforts, and hopefully Egypt will do so soon, as well, because this entire process has from the outset been a complete charade." ...
#ISRAEL #HAMAS #QATAR #EGYPT #NEGOTIATIONS #DONALDTRUMP #MBS #MIDDLEEAST