From the Liveblog of
Friday, March 22, 2024
Blinken told Qatar to threaten Hamas with expulsion as hostage talks faltered — report
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a message to Qatar earlier this month that it must pressure Hamas to accept a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal or risk being asked to leave by its Doha hosts, CNN reports.
The Times of Israel reported last week that Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani proposed expelling Hamas’s leaders from Doha during a meeting with Blinken days after the terror group’s October 7 onslaught. Blinken at the time signaled that it would be better for Qatar to use its contacts with Hamas — through the office it allowed the terror group to establish in Doha in 2012 at Washington’s behest — to mediate for a hostage deal.
As talks stalled earlier this month, two US officials told CNN that the message from Blinken to Qatari leaders urging them to increase the pressure on Hamas with the threat of getting booted was delivered on March 5.
According to the report, Doha received the message without much pushback but it was unclear whether the threat was relayed.
Blinken is in the region this week and is expected in Israel on Friday to confer with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet.
Mossad chief David Barnea will fly to Qatar on Friday amid the ongoing discussions for a potential truce and hostage release deal.
