The spouse of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has despatched a letter to the Emir of Qatar’s mom, pleading for her cooperation in liberating Israeli hostages.
The hostages had been captured by Hamas when the militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7 final yr.
In a letter, Prime Minister Sara Netanyahu, 65, instructed Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Misud that Ramadan is a “time for compassion and generosity” and for “uniting in protection of the values of peace and humanity.” “It reminded us of the energy we have now once we do one thing,” he stated. .
“Woman to girl, we should let you know that among the many hostages are 19 ladies who’re enduring unimaginable hardship.
“Reports of sexual abuse and rape are horrific and such acts towards ladies can’t be ignored or tolerated.”
He added: “Your involvement might assist carry them house, give their households a ray of hope and take an necessary step in direction of peace and reconciliation.”
Sheikh Moza bint Nasser Al Misd is taken into account one of the highly effective males within the rich kingdom.
She is co-founder and chairman of the multi-billion greenback Qatar Foundation, a non-public philanthropic group for science, schooling and group improvement, and has held quite a few different necessary positions.
Sky News has requested her workplace for a response to the letter.
Qatar’s place within the battle is sophisticated, with the United States having army bases there and Qatar being a key facilitator in ceasefire negotiations.
It is open to dialogue with non-state actors, tribes and militias not discovered within the West, together with the Afghan Taliban, Syrian rebels, Hamas and different Palestinian extremist teams corresponding to Islamic Jihad.
Qatar additionally has shut ties with Iran, and the 2 international locations share pure gasoline fields price billions of {dollars}.
However, this was not included within the 2020 Abraham Accords, wherein Arab international locations such because the UAE and Bahrain normalized relations with Israel.
For extra info on Qatar’s place within the Middle East, see this commentary from final November.