Qatari premier: No war with Israel, ‘occupation’ the only stumbling block

The prime minister mentions Riyadh-Jerusalem relations

The main obstacle standing in the way of relations between Qatar and Israel is the issue of Palestinian statehood, Qatar's top leader said on Friday.

During an international Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) event held in Singapore, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stressed, “We don’t have a war with Israel, the Israelis have an occupation over the Palestinians.”

Al Thani said that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs to come before Israel can be integrated into the region, a statement that echoes the generally accepted diplomatic position in the Arab world up until the signing of the historic Abraham Accords normalization agreement.

The necessity for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is also true with respect to the Saudi-Israel normalization deal, which has been rumored to be a part of a potential broader U.S.–Saudi security pact, Al Thani said.

“Any agreement with the Israelis doesn’t represent peace,” Al Thani stated.

“Peace can only be represented between [Israel] and the Palestinians. The conflict between the region and Israel is over the Palestinian issue. The reference for all Arab states is the Arab Peace Initiative, which was launched by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he added.

In the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, Arab states offered to normalize ties with Israel in exchange for a withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines and the creation of a Palestinian state.

Al Thani also talked about the restoration of relations between long-time regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, saying that this “was something we encouraged for a long time to stabilize the region.”

Riyadh and Tehran signed an agreement renewing diplomatic ties in March 2023, facilitated by China.

The prime minister’s speech focused on the diplomatic role that small states can play in an era of rising geostrategic competition and Qatar’s approach to deepening engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

Qatar and Israel have not had diplomatic relations since 2009, however, there are economic ties between the countries.

Qatar didn’t join Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan in signing an Abraham Accords peace agreement in 2020.