Israel, Hamas must show 'good faith': Qatar

DAVOS:

Qatar's prime minister said Tuesday that a lasting peace in Gaza would depend on Israel and Hamas acting in "good faith", days into a fragile truce in the Palestinian territory mediated by the Gulf state.

"If they are embarking in this in good faith, this will last and hopefully will lead to phase two, will lead to a permanent ceasefire," Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Qatar, with fellow mediators the United States and Egypt, announced last week a truce deal that came into effect Sunday after 15 months of war in Gaza.

The first part of the three-phase deal should last six weeks and see 33 hostages returned from Gaza in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians.

The parties are also expected to start discussions for a permanent ceasefire, moving into phases two and three of the deal.

Earlier Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said the Gulf state believed the deal addressed all the major issues at stake in the war.

"We are confident in the deal when it comes to the language of the deal, when it comes to the fact that we hashed out all the major issues on the table," Majed al-Ansari told a press conference, adding that Qatar believed both parties would implement the deal.

"Any breach from either side or a political decision... could obviously lead the deal to collapse," the spokesman said.

US President Donald Trump, who had claimed credit for the agreement, said he was "not confident" it would hold.

Sheikh Mohammed told the Davos audience that Trump's "whole notion of making America great again is something very important, and we believe that also we want to see the Middle East great again".

Ansari said Qatar felt assured the Trump administration "was very supportive of this deal".

The first exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians prisoners went ahead on Sunday, but the ceasefire began late after a delay in Hamas's release of a list of names of hostages slated for release.

"Things are going positively... We believe that the next exchange will be smoother," Ansari said, referring to the second swap due Saturday.

Ansari said the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and an end to the daily violence "is what fills us with confidence", as he urged the world not to "take this deal for granted"