- Hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed after a missile fired by Israeli forces hit the Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza
- Cabinet renews Qatar's categorical rejection of attempts to forcibly displace Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip
- The horrific massacre, which contradicts all international laws and humanitarian norms, is a natural result of the international community's silence, complicity, double standards, and negligence of the occupation's crimes: Cabinet
After the meeting, HE Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs issued the following statement:
At the outset of the meeting, the Cabinet condemned in the strongest terms the heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces in their brutal bombing of Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which claimed the lives of hundreds of Palestinian civilians.
The Cabinet stressed that this horrific massacre, which contradicts all international laws and humanitarian norms, is a natural result of the international community's silence, complicity, double standards, and negligence of the occupation's crimes, adding that this horrendous attack heralds further escalation and threat to the security and stability of the region unless the international community intervenes urgently and decisively to stop Israeli attacks against civilians and provide protection for the Palestinian people.
The Cabinet renewed Qatar's categorical rejection of attempts to forcibly displace the fraternal Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, and its call to lift the siege on the Strip and provide full protection for civilians in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law.
The Cabinet affirmed that the policy of collective punishment and forcing civilians to flee or seek refuge in neighboring countries would further escalate the situation and double the suffering of the Palestinian people, in addition to the clear and explicit violation of international laws it represents.
The Cabinet reiterated Qatar's call on the international community to move quickly to open humanitarian corridors that allow international organisations to bring medical and food aid into Gaza and evacuate injured civilians. The Cabinet stressed that the only way to establish a just and lasting peace in the region is to restore the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, particularly their right to establishing their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Cabinet then reviewed the following topics and took appropriate decisions thereon:
First: Approval of the draft general budget of the state for the fiscal year 2024, a draft law approving the general budget, and the referral of the total chapters and main sectors of the draft general budget and the draft law to the Shura Council.
Second: Approval of a draft Cabinet decision amending some provisions of Resolution No. 26 of 2004 establishing the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW).
Third: Taking the necessary measures to ratify the following: 1- An agreement on cooperation in the field of higher education and scientific research between the government of Qatar and the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
2- An agreement between the government of the State of Qatar and the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the mutual encouragement and protection of investments.
3- An agreement on co-operation in the field of worker recruitment between the government of Qatar and the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Fourth: Approval of a draft air services agreement between the government of Qatar and the government of Barbados.
Fifth: The Cabinet reviewed the following two topics and took appropriate decisions thereon:
1- The comprehensive semi-annual report on the results of the work of the Standing Committee for Water Resources during the period from 1-7 to 31-12-2022.
2- Report on the outcomes of participating in the 5th Budapest Demographic Summit (Republic of Hungary - September 2023).
