Latest news with #MajedAlAnsari
Al Arabiya
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Gaza mediators ‘intensifying' efforts to reach deal in Doha
Gaza ceasefire talks remain in their 'first phase' after more than a week of talks, even as mediators step up efforts to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas, Qatar said Tuesday. 'Discussions on the framework agreement are still ongoing. Both delegations are present here in Doha, and the mediators are intensifying efforts to reach an agreement,' Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters. 'The negotiations are still in the first phase, which is specifically about reaching an agreement of principle ahead of negotiations that will begin, God willing, in the next phase,' he said. But uncertainty loomed over the efforts, which had appeared deadlocked over the weekend, with each side accusing the other of staking out positions that prevented a deal from being reached. 'We cannot say whether an agreement will be reached tomorrow or whether the negotiations will collapse tomorrow,' al-Ansari said. On Saturday, Palestinian sources told AFP that Israel's proposals for keeping troops in the territory were preventing progress towards a deal. But the Qatari spokesman insisted: 'We believe there is no stalemate,' adding there was no set timeframe for the talks. Qatar has been mediating indirect negotiations between the warring parties alongside Egypt and the United States.
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Progress slow at Gaza ceasefire talks
The US president and the Israeli prime minister have met for a second day of talks in Washington, as negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire continue in Qatar. Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said a ceasefire is close but Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, told reporters in Doha progress was slow. Sarah Ferguson interviews Majed al-Ansari.
LBCI
08-07-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Qatar says Doha talks focused on 'framework' for Gaza deal
Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a truce in Gaza are focused on a "framework" for a deal, mediating nation Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. "What is happening right now is that both delegations are in Doha. We are speaking with them separately on framework for the talks. So talks have not begun, as of yet, but we are talking to both sides over that framework," Majed Al-Ansari told a Doha news conference. AFP
Observer
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Observer
Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces kill 34 as ceasefire nears
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 34 people on Monday, including 11 waiting for aid, as momentum built behind a ceasefire push for the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a day earlier that his country's 'victory' over Iran had created 'opportunities', including for freeing hostages held by fighters in Gaza. His comments raised hopes for a new ceasefire in the conflict that has created dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Key mediator Qatar said on Monday that 'momentum' had been created by the Iran-Israel ceasefire. "We won't hold our breath for this to happen today and tomorrow, but we believe that the elements are in place to push forward towards restarting the talks," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told journalists. Meanwhile, on the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency said that 34 people had been killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire since midnight. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that "11 people (were) killed near aid distribution points in the central and southern parts of the territory." Eyewitnesses and local authorities have reported repeated killings of Palestinians near distribution centres over recent weeks. Samir Abu Jarbou, 28, said by phone that he had gone with four relatives to pick up food aid in an area of central Gaza around midnight. "Suddenly the (Israeli) army opened fire, and drones started shooting. We ran away and got nothing," he said. "The situation is catastrophic. We are suffering from terrible hunger. My only wish is to succeed in getting a bag of flour to feed my seven siblings." Bassal said 23 people were killed in at least seven separate strikes across the territory, mainly in the north. When asked for comment, the Israeli military said it needed more information to look into the reports. Restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean the news agency is unable to independently verify the full tolls and details provided by rescuers. Israel's military issued a fresh evacuation order on Monday, for several areas in and around Gaza City. "For your safety, immediately evacuate further westward and southward toward Al Mawasi," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X. Despite being declared a safe zone by Israel, Al Mawasi has been hit by repeated strikes. Of the 251 hostages seized during the assault, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. - AFP
The National
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Qatar tells of huge cost of Iranian missile attack
Iran's attack on Al Udeid airbase in Qatar last week was 'not harmless' but Doha opted for de-escalation in its wake, Qatar 's Foreign Ministry spokesman said, in one of the most detailed accounts yet of the strikes and the ceasefire deal that followed. Iran launched missiles at the base, which houses US troops alongside Qatari and British air forces, in response to America's strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran less than 48 hours beforehand. These prompted closure of Qatari, Kuwaiti and Bahraini airspace, and the activation of Doha's air defence systems. 'We're talking about the huge cost on the military side and a huge cost on the economic side, because our airspace was closed for more than six hours, our national airline had to divert,' Dr Majed Al Ansari told a panel hosted by the Rome-based Institute of International Affairs. This was, "of course, alongside the reputational damage when it comes to safety and security", he added. "This was not a harmless attack on Qatar. But again, we chose peace, because this is what we've all learnt and this is what we will do in the future.' Qatar deployed three Patriot air defence batteries in two locations and more than 200 missiles to down all but one of 20 missiles fired on the night of Monday, June 23, said Mr Al Ansari, who is also adviser to Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The missiles were launched in two barrages of seven and 13 missiles by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The first salvo was downed at sea, while one missile from the second group landed at Al Udeid, Mr Al Ansari added. No injuries were reported, a Qatari military official said previously. Mr Al Ansari refuted the idea that the attack was co-ordinated with the Iranians, although he said the first warning that missiles were on the way came on the morning of June 23, hours before the first one was launched around 7.30pm. 'It was an attack that we tried to make sure did not happen, that we have always been afraid of as a scenario and have always strategised against,' he said. Qatar's leaders 'did not know for sure it was happening', until it was launched and Mr Al Ansari was sitting alongside Mr Al Thani and Qatari Minister of State Dr Mohammed Al Khulaifi, who has led some of Doha's interactions with Iran. The officials then received word that US President Donald Trump wanted to engage Qatar to broker a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel, and put an end to nearly two weeks of conflict that left hundreds dead and destroyed infrastructure in both countries. We do believe that the ceasefire will hold, as long as the momentum that was created by the ceasefire would lead to other positive points Dr Majed Al Ansari, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman The truce deal had to account for 'technical information' such as finding parameters and language on which both parties would agree, Mr Al Ansari said. But equally as crucial was dealing with 'the optics around the ceasefire', he added. 'I cannot stress enough how important the national pride element was on both sides of the discussion when it came to a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, how the political narrative needed to be controlled between both sides to make sure that there was no political posturing that would lead to the collapse of a ceasefire," he said. "Doing both together, through our discussions with both sides, liaising with the Americans, is what brought us to the ceasefire.' Qatar was keen on de-escalation because even before the attack on Al Udeid, the Iran-Israel war had come perilously close to tis borders. On June 14, Israel hit the South Pars offshore gasfield, which connects to Qatar's giant North gasfield in the Arabian Gulf, sending off alarm bells in Doha. Peace through diplomacy Iranian officials have been at pains to explain that attacking Al Udeid was a retaliation against US strikes on its nuclear sites, and there was no intention of provoking Qatar. Tehran has been attempting to improve its relations with neighbouring countries in recent years. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian 'expressed his regret' to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim in a phone call the day after the attack, according to a statement from the emir's office. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at the that Iran 'remains fully committed to its good-neighbourliness policy with respect to the State of Qatar". The 'violation' was 'completely inconsistent with the principle of good neighbourliness". the emir's statement read. The truce will hold as long as the renewed peace paves the way for diplomatic interaction over Iran's nuclear programme, Mr Al Ansari said. 'We do believe that the ceasefire will hold, as long as the momentum that was created by the ceasefire will lead to other positive points,' he said. 'We have seen the positive statements of the US regarding talks with Iran. We've seen some positive statements coming in from Iran talks with the US, kick-starting that process immediately, and making sure that we have talks on the wider issues is the only safeguard against another escalation taking place.' US President Donald Trump last week claimed negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme would resume 'next week'. Iranian officials have denied that talks have been scheduled and want guarantees that future discussions will not be interrupted by military operations. They are believed to be seeking some concessions in terms of sanctions relief or other incentives as a sign, Iranian sources previously told The National, of Washington's sincerity in negotiations. That could prove difficult for the Trump administration. The EU and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, including Qatar, can work together to ensure peace continues through diplomacy, Mr Al Ansari said. He highlighted Oman and Italy, which hosted five rounds of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington before the Israeli attacks prompted a cancellation of a sixth. 'It showed very clearly that between Europe as a whole, the GCC as a whole, we can do a lot together,' he said. Regional peace can come only with a solution for the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Mr Al Ansari added. Conflicts across the region are not only destabilising countries including Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen – they are causing a 'a wave of radicalisation and negative sentiment towards the West that we should not take lightly", he said. This is not a by-product but a 'major result' of the escalation that lasted for nearly two years. 'It will lead to problems for all of us, collectively in the region, unless we are able to deal with it.'
