Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, is pictured at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 9, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

i24 News – Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Wednesday ruled out an Abraham Accords-style normalization of relations with Israel as long as “there is no prospect of ending the occupation.”

The minister made the remarks on the second day of the Global Security Forum held in the Qatari capital, Doha.

“We should not focus on economic normalization and forget the (Israeli) occupation of Arab lands,” the Gulf state’s top diplomat said.

Al Thani dismissed the Abraham Accords signed last year between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with the later additions of Morocco and Sudan.

“We do not see any prospects for the peace process, and therefore we believe that the Abraham Agreement cannot contribute to resolving the crisis,” the minister said.

Al Thani said that the economic measures that Israel is taking to improve the lives of Palestinians solves only a small part of the problem.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has indicated that it wants to expand the Abraham Accords to include other Arab countries, but it appears with the minister’s comments that Qatar is not on the list.

Ahead of a trilateral meeting scheduled for Wednesday with the top diplomats from Israel, the UAE, and the US in Washington, a senior State Department official told reporters that the Abraham Accords can “help to achieve a more peaceful and prosperous Middle East.”

However, the official, who asked to remain anonymous, said that “it’s not a substitute to a two-state solution. We hope that normalization can be leveraged to advance progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track.”

The official said that the Biden administration was “actively working to expand” the historic pact.