Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Sunday that mediators in the Gaza ceasefire agreement decided to postpone the tougher issues to a later time “because the parties were not ready,” noting that if the approach had been towards comprehensive negotiations, “we would not have achieved these results.”

In an interview with The New York Times, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani emphasized that a fundamental question now is to whom the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) will hand over its weapons.

He added, “There is a fundamental difference between Hamas handing over its weapons to a Palestinian authority or to another entity,” noting that Hamas is open to discussing how it can avoid posing a threat to Israel.

He also stressed that the next step should be to discuss forming an international stabilization force.

It is noteworthy that Qatar, which participated in mediation between Israel and Hamas in Sharm El-Sheikh to stop the ongoing two-year genocide war in the Gaza Strip, had confirmed on October 9 that both parties agreed on all terms of the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to stop the war.

Earlier, Hamas confirmed that the joining of both Qatar and Turkey alongside Egypt in the Sharm El-Sheikh negotiations gives the talks a strong push to achieve positive results for stopping the war and prisoner exchange, narrowing the maneuvering space for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.