Qatar will not pay for Gaza's reconstruction, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani stated during an interview with Tucker Carlson at The Doha Forum on Sunday.
When Carlson raised the question of funding for rebuilding Gaza, Thani compared the situation to that of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in which there is international support to have Russia fund the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Thani claimed there is a double standard where there is pressure for the region and not Israel to take responsibility for Gaza’s reconstruction, and that Qatar, while they will “continue supporting the Palestinian people,” they will not be taking responsibility for funding the reconstruction.
“We are not the ones who are going to write the check to rebuild what others destroyed,” he said.
Qatari PM rejects relocating Gazans
Thani also rejected the idea of relocating Gazan citizens.
“They have the right to have the choice where to live,” he stated, “and they don’t want to leave their country.”
Looking to the future, he expressed his support for US President Donald Trump’s Peace Plan, denounced violations, and expressed concern over the ongoing conflict.
“We see Gaza bombing is still continuing while there is a ceasefire ongoing,” Thani said, saying the situation in the region “all depends on how can we make sure that Israel stops at this level and doesn’t escalate further.”
The Qatari prime minister also claimed that Israel’s current political landscape makes the country an unwilling partner for peace, claiming that resolutions passing against the two-state solution push the region away from peace.
“We cannot, you know, remain hostage to the far right and the extremist agenda,” he said.