HH The Amir meets French President, discusses Gaza ceasefire, launches aid initiative
HH The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is on an official visit to France, met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on Tuesday.
The two leaders, during their talks, reaffirmed the need to ‘very quickly’ achieve a ceasefire in Gaza before the Holy month of Ramadan, the French presidential office said.
The leaders also discussed prospects for creating a Palestinian state and other bilateral cooperation.
Sheikh Tamim and Macron signed an accord on humanitarian cooperation, including for Gaza. Part of the accord set aside $217m to help Palestinians.
Qatar and France also launched a joint initiative to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians besieged in the Gaza Strip.
Three aircraft belonging to the Qatari Armed Forces arrived in the city of El Arish in Egypt, carrying 75 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including 10 ambulances, shelter supplies, and food items, provided by Qatar and France.
US President Joe Biden had on Monday said Israel was ready to halt its military offensive against Gaza during Ramadan. But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, in parallel, ordered his troops to prepare an offensive against Rafah town in southern Gaza.
A ceasefire could allow for the release of hostages held by Hamas since its unprecedented attacks on southern Israel on October 7.
Hamas militants took about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 29,800 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest tally by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
A week-long truce in November saw more than 100 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners freed, but recent talks have proved more difficult.
Egyptian, Qatari, and US experts met in Doha on Sunday for talks also attended by Israeli and Hamas representatives.
Before that, talks were held without a Hamas presence in Paris, where representatives ‘came to an understanding among the four of them about what the basic contours of a hostage deal for a temporary ceasefire would look like,’ White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
This is Sheikh Tamim’s first state visit to France since he became Qatar’s Amir in 2013.
As a host to a Hamas political bureau while maintaining close ties to the United States, mediation from HH The Amir and Qatar have taken on a central role in efforts to defuse the Gaza war.
Macron hosted a state dinner for HH The Amir, where on top of political, business, and entertainment figures, France football captain Kylian Mbappe was one of the guests.
---
Make sure to check out our social media to keep track of the latest content.
Instagram - @qatarliving
X - @qatarliving
Facebook - Qatar Living
YouTube - qatarlivingofficial
.png?itok=R_kP2LN3)
.png?itok=T0aFJQpm)
_0.png?itok=vgJu5hqL)
.png?itok=gU-ZsZRf)
.png?itok=SzJTF0e0)
The secret of inside is kept secret, it is natural.
Hope for the better results, very soon, very quickly.
The secret of inside is kept secret, it is natural.
Hope for the better results, very soon, very quickly.
Its actually a shame, this visit serves nothing, the racist islamophobic french president simply gets more encouragement to continue doing what he does: islamophobic actions, funding french israeli soldiers, not arresting those criminals wuth dual citizenship committing the genocide. So disappointed at the Emir, instead of boycotting, he pours more money even there. Shame.