Key Points

In an interview with Al Jazeera aired on Wednesday, Sheikh Mohammed confirmed that Doha had conveyed the plan, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already backed, to Hamas's negotiating team and discussed its broad terms.

He acknowledged that the proposal has "practical and implementation challenges" but stressed that it deals with the most urgent need: halting the bloodshed in Gaza while creating "opportunities."

"Everyone agreed on stopping the war, preventing displacement and the full withdrawal of the Israeli army. These are the three main, pivotal matters," Sheikh Mohammed said. "And the directly responsible party for managing Gaza are the Palestinian people themselves."

"The main focus is how to protect the people in Gaza," he emphasised.

Al Jazeera reported that on Monday, Netanyahu apologised to Qatar for the killing of a Qatari citizen during an unprecedented Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha last month. Sheikh Mohammed received the apology in a joint call from Trump and Netanyahu during their White House meeting.

The 20-point plan has been endorsed by a wide range of Arab and Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Turkiye and Indonesia. Under the plan, once agreed, the attacks in Gaza would stop immediately and "full aid" would be allowed into the territory.

Representatives from Turkiye are also joining the Gaza mediation team meeting in Doha. "Turkiye now stands as part of the US initiative and is collaborating closely on it," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told reporters on Tuesday.

According to Al Jazeera, the plan provides for the release of all Israeli captives within 72 hours of acceptance, followed by Israel's release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas would step down from power, demilitarise, and its members would be granted amnesty. An international force would temporarily oversee security and train local Palestinian police, while a technocratic Palestinian committee would assume interim governance.

Sheikh Mohammed cautioned that details such as Israel's withdrawal process and the structure of a future Palestinian administration must still be clarified. "This is primarily the work of the Palestinian side with the Israeli side, but also as a broader supporting international community, there must be a clear and legal framework for this matter, which of course will be at the UN Security Council," he said.

Hamas has yet to provide an official response, although Doha has stated that the group will "responsibly examine" the proposal. Trump has given Hamas three to four days to respond and warned that if it refused, they would "pay in hell."

The latest push for a ceasefire comes as Israel intensifies its offensive in Gaza City, nearly two years into the war. Since October 7, 2023, Israeli attacks have killed 66,097 Palestinians and injured 168,536, while restrictions on aid have caused 453 hunger-related deaths, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

- ANI