According to Mohammed al-Thani, the key problem is “the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians”.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani stressed that his country “is not at war with Israel”, but that the key problem lies in “the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians.”

He made tbe remarks at a conference in Singapore on Friday, according to daily Haaretz newspaper.  He added that the point of reference for Qatar, as for other Arab states, remains the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which he sees as “the best way to achieve peace”.

Launched by Saudi Arabia, this initiative proposes normalization between 22 Arab countries and Israel in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank. Israel has so far rejected this proposal because of its demand for the “right of return” for the descendants of Palestinian refugees.

Qatar and Israel have no diplomatic relations, but in recent years Doha has maintained an ongoing dialogue with Israel on aid to Gaza. Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Gaza to finance electricity, build new roads and hospitals, help Hamas pay the salaries of its civil servants and provide monthly allowances to needy families. Israel has approved these financial transfers, even though this has exposed it to criticism due to Hamas’s ongoing terrorist activities.

During last year’s World Cup in Qatar, a historic agreement was reached providing for direct flights between Israel and Qatar. Despite these advances, Qatar’s Foreign Minister last year ruled out the prospect of normalizing relations with Israel. In an interview with Axios, he said that Qatar had previously maintained ties with Israel “when there were prospects for peace” with the Palestinians, but that his country had “lost hope” after the 2008-2009 Gaza war. He added that Qatar was continuing its “working relationship” to help the Palestinian people, but that it was difficult to envisage joining the Abraham Accords “in the absence of a real commitment to a two-state solution”.