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May peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you

At the outset, I am pleased to welcome my friend, His Excellency Secretary Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State.

Today's meeting builds upon a series of important discussions that occurred over the past eight months regarding the war in the Gaza Strip and ways to end it, as well as ways to prevent the expansion of violence and conflict in the region.

As you know, in light of these deliberations, we discussed the response that we received yesterday from Hamas and the Palestinian factions on the ceasefire deal and the exchange of prisoners and detainees.

We are currently examining the response and coordinating with the relevant parties regarding the next steps.

Of course, the State of Qatar is committed, alongside the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States, in our partnership towards finding an end to this war and a deal for the exchange of prisoners and hostages.

In this context, we express our appreciation to His Excellency President Biden for his efforts in unifying the varying visions in order to reach this proposal in such a way that brings together the parties’ various perspectives as much as possible.

As we have mentioned in several previous stages, such an agreement requires the parties to make concessions until they are able to achieve an appropriate solution and mutual agreement.

The State of Qatar, together with its partners, is committed to bridging this gap and trying to resolve these differences in the best way possible, in order to end the war.

And we would like to highlight the following message: every day that passes signifies a loss of innocent civilian lives.

Over the past eight months, unfortunately, we have seen the disaster increase daily, yielding more victims, especially among civilians, whether they are children or women in the Gaza Strip.

There is no doubt that we must take a clear position calling for an end to this war - which has resulted in the martyrdom of more than 37,000 and the injury of more than 84,000 - not to mention the continued used of collective punishment and starvation policies against our brothers in Gaza.

Recently, we have witnessed a shift in this conflict towards a clear and firm call to end this war.

In this context, we have seen the Security Council resolution submitted by the United States for an immediate ceasefire, a deal for the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and a return to political negotiations towards reaching sustainable solutions.

We, in the State of Qatar, welcome and support this resolution.

During the past period, several regional and international meetings and conferences were held, in which the State of Qatar participated, with the aim of unifying visions and reaching a sustainable solution to the Palestinian issue.

There have also been numerous visits and tours within the framework of the ministerial committee mandated by the Arab and Islamic Summit. These included the meeting of foreign ministers and representatives of European countries, and participation in the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC).

In addition, we participated yesterday in the “Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza” conference, at the kind invitation of His Majesty King Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which called for urgent measures to end this conflict, to end the ongoing operations in Gaza, and to respect international law.

In this context, we welcome the resumption of U.S. Air aid to the Gaza Strip, which comes after a period of suspension of aid shipments due to operations in the region.

We also commend your announcement, Your Excellency, of an additional humanitarian aid package for the Gaza Strip.

The State of Qatar also continues its efforts to send humanitarian aid to our brothers in the Strip on an ongoing basis.

Your Excellency, it is no secret to you, that we are currently living in a very sensitive period. We believe that reaching an agreement at this time is a highly important matter, and will help end the bloodshed and save the region from reaching the verge of collapse and explosion.

Here, of course, we are counting on the United States and on our partners in the Arab Republic of Egypt and all countries to pressure the parties to reach an agreement that ends this war.

Of course, Your Excellency, at this stage, we much seek sustainable solutions, not temporary ones.

Our meeting today served as an opportunity to discuss ways to reach sustainable solutions that would bring security and stability to the Gaza Strip, to our brothers in the West Bank, and to all those living in this region.

We believe that the permanent solution that we must achieve is the just establishment of a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy on the 1967 borders and living peacefully side by side with Israel.

As you know, Your Excellency, the countries of the region are open to having a clear peace plan in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative as well.

We have also seen a movement in the UN General Assembly towards accepting the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations, and we believe that this step will contribute to the two-state solution.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for your presence in Doha today and we appreciate our cooperation and strategic partnership with the friendly United States in this crisis and in many common files between our two countries.