The Qatari official stressed that his country will continue its mediation efforts despite the campaign it has faced by Israeli officials.

Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, dismissed on Sunday the so-called Israeli-led “Qatargate” scandal as baseless, calling out attempts to demonise the Gulf state’s crucial mediation role between Hamas and Israel.

“All I know is the Watergate [scandal], such media propaganda used for political reasons is baseless[…]I do not know where they got their scenarios from,” Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the press in Doha.

Sheikh Mohammed’s remarks came during a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, at the Amiri Diwan Annex in Msheireb.

Discussions between both sides earlier dealt with bilateral relations and regional issues, including Syria and developments in the Gaza Strip.

The meeting came amid ongoing efforts by Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after Israel resumed its genocidal war on March 18, ending the three-phased deal that the mediators reached on January 15.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 61,700 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with the figure feared to be higher with thousands still trapped under the rubble, presumed dead or still undiscovered.

Israel has repeatedly blamed Hamas for the stalemate in the negotiations, despite the Palestinian group adhering to the terms of the deal’s first phase by releasing 33 captives.

Qatar has also been on the receiving end of a media campaign mainly driven by Israeli officials targeting its mediation efforts, despite its success in releasing captives. 

One example is the so-called “Qatargate” campaign, which alleged that Qatar sought to influence Israeli aides- claims widely viewed as part of a broader smear effort.

Some U.S. politicians have raised allegations against Qatar in connection with the American campus protests. Sheikh Mohammed addressed the issue, dismissing these claims as unfounded.

“This is all nonsense, these are false, random accusations that do not rely on any proof or evidence. The relationship between the Qatari national institutions and the American academic organisations is very clear and transparent,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

The Qatari official also stressed that Qatar will continue its mediation efforts despite the campaigns aimed at targeting its efforts.

“Qatar will continue its efforts with its partners to put an end to this war, despite all defamation attempts attempting to target us[…]Those efforts should have been exerted elsewhere. We are with peace and we do not try to benefit from wars,” he said.

Ongoing mediation efforts 

Meanwhile, Israeli media reports, including by Haaretz, said that Israel’s Intelligence Chief, David Barnea, was in Doha on Thursday, where he met Qatar’s prime minister.

When asked about the reports, Sheikh Mohammed said the meeting was part of the ongoing efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Sheikh Mohammed also said he “noticed on Thursday a bit of progress in comparison to other meetings”.

“Until today, we are trying to pursue our way to bring the parties back to the agreement. Now, the meeting that took place on Thursday is part of these efforts,” Sheikh Mohammed explained.

The top Qatari official stressed that his country has been working to end the war rather than having divided truces.

“We are trying our best to make the most comprehensive deal possible that ends the war, brings the hostages out and not dividing it into phases, because we have been through the phases already,” he said.

With Türkiye being among the countries engaging with Hamas, Fidan said that his country’s efforts aim to complement those by Qatar and Egypt. He also called out Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the besieged enclave.

“Israel is ethnically cleansing Palestinians[…]the humanitarian crisis is committed before the whole world,” he said.