Sheikh Tamim has also reiterated his condemnation of Israel’s attack on Qatar on September 9.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani slammed Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip and its continuous violations of the recently announced ceasefire deal with Hamas, as well as its expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

“What has taken place in the Gaza Strip over the past two years is a genocide. This term sums up all the atrocities,” Sheikh Tamim said during his inaugural speech of the 54th annual session of the Shura Council on Tuesday.

“We reaffirm our condemnation of all Israeli violations and practices in Palestine, especially turning the Gaza Strip into an uninhabitable area, continuing to breach the ceasefire,” the Amir added.

Qatar has played a pivotal mediating role between Hamas and Israel since the onset of the Israeli genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023. 

The Gulf state—alongside Egypt, the United States, and Türkiye—had reached the latest ceasefire on October 9 following negotiations in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Israel has violated the deal at least 80 times while killing nearly 100 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since it came into force on October 10, 

Over the past two years, Israel has killed at least 68,216 people in Gaza, with local rescuers still recovering thousands of bodies from under the rubble.

“It is unfortunate that the international community remains incapable of enforcing respect when it comes to the tragedy of the Palestinian people,” Sheikh Tamim said.

The Qatari leader also stressed that “the issue of Palestine is not a matter of terrorism, but a matter of prolonged occupation that it is time to put an end to”.

Renewed condemnation of attack on Qatar

Sheikh Tamim has also reiterated his condemnation of Israel’s attack on Qatar on September 9, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later apologised for following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Israel has violated all laws and norms governing relations between states through its aggression against a country playing a mediating role and by attempting to assassinate members of the negotiating delegation,” Sheikh Tamim said.

“We considered this aggression an act of state terrorism and the global response was strong enough to shock the perpetrators,” he added.

The attack on Doha targeted a residential neighbourhood where Hamas’s negotiators were reviewing a U.S. ceasefire proposal.

The attack killed senior Hamas negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya’s son, Humam, along with four other lower-rank Hamas members and 22-year-old Corporal Bader Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari of Qatar’s Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya).

Since Israel waged the genocidal war in Gaza, it has carried out other attacks across the region including in Yemen, Tunisia, Lebanon, Iran, Qatar, and Syria.

Qatar’s Amir stressed that his country has continued in “making commendable efforts in mediating conflicts”.

“These efforts have contributed to enhancing Qatar’s global standing and associating its name with this positive and active role,” he said.