The Albany Gazette - Mediators Qatar, Egypt call for next steps in Gaza truce

The measures were spelled out in the US- and UN-backed peace plan that has largely halted the fighting in the Palestinian territory, though the warring parties have yet to agree on how to move forward from the deal's first phase.

Its initial steps saw Israeli troops pull back behind a so-called "yellow line" within Gaza's borders, while Palestinian militant group Hamas released the living hostages it still held and handed over the remains of all but one of the deceased.

"Now we are at the critical moment... A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces, (and) there is stability back in Gaza," Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum, an annual diplomatic conference.

Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, helped secure the long-elusive truce in Gaza, which came into effect on October 10 and has mostly halted two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Under a second phase of the deal, which has yet to begin, Israel is to withdraw from its positions in the territory, an interim authority is to take over governance, and an international stabilisation force is to be deployed.

"We need to deploy this force as soon as possible on the ground because one party, which is Israel, is every day violating the ceasefire," said Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, also speaking at the Doha Forum.

Arab and Muslim nations, however, have been hesitant to participate in the new force, which could end up fighting Palestinian militants.

- 'Main objective' -

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the forum that talks on the force were ongoing and critical questions remained as to its command structure and which countries would contribute.

But its first goal, Fidan said, "should be to separate Palestinians from the Israelis".

"This should be our main objective. Then we can address the other remaining issues," he added.

Abdelatty seconded the idea, calling for the force to be deployed along "the yellow line in order to verify and to monitor" the truce.

There have been multiple deadly incidents of Israeli forces firing on Palestinians in the vicinity of the yellow line since the ceasefire went into effect.

Hamas is supposed to disarm under the 20-point plan first outlined by US President Donald Trump, with members who decommission their weapons allowed to leave Gaza. The militant group has repeatedly rejected the proposition.

Turkey, which is also a guarantor of the truce, has indicated it wants to take part in the stabilisation force, but its efforts are viewed unfavourably in Israel, which considers Ankara too close to Hamas.

- Rafah crossing -

Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar and the other truce guarantors were "getting together in order to force the way forward for the next phase" of the deal.

"And this next phase is just also temporary from our perspective," he said, calling for a "lasting solution that provides justice for both people".

The ceasefire plan calls for Gaza's vital Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt to be reopened to allow in aid -- a goal shared by humanitarian actors.

Israel this week said it would open the checkpoint, but "exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt".

Egypt swiftly denied that it had agreed to such a move, insisting the crossing be opened in both directions.

Israel's announcement drew expressions of concern from several Muslim-majority nations, who said they opposed "any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land".

Abdelatty insisted on Saturday that Rafah "is not going to be a gateway for displacement. It's only for flooding Gaza with humanitarian and medical care".

(T.Martin--TAG)