Qatar Condemns Netanyahu's Comments Regarding The Existence Of The Hamas Group

JAKARTA - Qatar on Thursday responded firmly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement regarding the existence of the Hamas office in Qatar, calling the comments "surprisy".

Netanyahu on Wednesday warned Qatar to expel Hamas officials or "bring them to justice. Because otherwise we will."

He also accused Qatar of providing shelter and funding for Hamas, which sparked strong criticism from Doha.

In response, Qatar's Foreign Ministry in a statement condemned what it called "an explicit threat of violation of state sovereignty" Netanyahu in the future.

"Netanyahu is fully aware that the placement of Hamas offices is carried out within the framework of Qatar mediation efforts requested by the United States and Israel," the ministry said.

"Negotiations always take place officially and transparently, with international support and attended by the US and Israeli delegations. Netanyahu's accusation that Qatar is secretly hiding the Hamas delegation is a desperate attempt to justify crimes condemned by the rest of the world," the statement said.

The heated debate comes more than a day after Israel attempted to kill Hamas political leaders in an airstrike in Qatar on Tuesday, which stepped up its military campaign in the Middle East and sparked a series of international condemnations.

It is known that Qatar, together with Egypt and the United States, has mediated the peace negotiations between Hamas and Israel. Qatar warned that Israel's attack on Doha could thwart the negotiations.

"We will work closely with our partners to ensure Netanyahu is held accountable and his reckless and irresponsible actions are stopped," said Qatar Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani emphasized that mediation efforts were part of Qatar's identity and nothing would hinder his role in that regard, hours after Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.

"Qatar has put everything he can and will do everything he can to stop the war in Gaza, but for the current negotiations, I don't think anything is valid at this time after what we saw from today's attack," PM al-Thani told a news conference.

He blamed Israel for sabotaging what he called an opportunity for peace, sharply criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he said practiced "state terrorism".