"Recent statements made by Israel's prime minister, calling for Qatar to pressure Hamas on the release of hostages are a new attempt to prolong the war, for reasons we are all aware of," Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on Monday.
More stories:
The harsh comments came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Jewish leaders that they should call on Qatar, which has been mediating between Israel and the Hamas, to apply pressure on the terror group in order to bring about the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza.
2 View gallery
Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani
(Photo: Dana Kopel, Saudi Press Agency)
"The Israeli prime minister knows that Qatar has been committed from day one to mediation and to ending the crisis and releasing the hostages. The proof is the cease-fire that was agreed in November and the release of 109 of the captives," he said.
"We reject Netanyahu's accusations about the efforts to help and rehabilitate the Palestinian people and his presentation of Qatar as the financer of Hamas, when he knows full-well that that was coordinated with Israel, the U.S., Egypt, the UN and all others involved."
The Qatari official said his country would continue its mediation attempts and would not pay head to statements, "which could be construed only as a means to escape the personal political crisis of the Israeli prime minister."
He said Qatar asked that Netanyahu "concentrate on the negotiations and on what serves regional security and stop the tragic continuation of the war, instead of making such statements every time they suit his narrow political agenda."