Report: Documents found in Gaza show Hamas-Qatar coordination against Trump peace plan

Channel 12 reports that documents found during the army’s operations in Gaza show a close effort between Qatar and Hamas to thwart US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians and efforts for Arab countries to normalize relations with the Jewish state.

The report contends, citing the documents, that Qatar’s relationship was crucial to the Hamas terror group’s survival over the years, and its ability to carry out the October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel.

In an emergency June 2019 meeting, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani met with Hamas leaders regarding concerns over Trump’s plans for peace and for Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel.

Al Thani noted that countries such as Saudi Arabia may agree to ties with Israel, the report says.

Khaled Mashaal reportedly told Al Thani, “We need to cooperate in order to resist the deal of the century and thwart it.”

In December 2019, at a meeting with Qatar’s then-foreign minister, now Prime Minister Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, then-Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh reportedly said, “The Qatari grants are Hamas’s main artery,” referring to the cash given by Doha to the terror group.

Later in 2020, Trump officially unveiled a peace plan that he framed as a “realistic” two-state solution. The “deal of the century,” formally entitled “Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People,” offered the Palestinians a state on roughly 70% of the West Bank that wouldn’t include Israel’s settlements, as well as a chunk of the Negev desert and a hefty economic aid package.

Documents reported by Channel 12 also show correspondence demonstrating that Hamas worked to remove Egypt’s diplomatic influence in Gaza’s affairs, and to replace it with Qatar’s.

Then Gaza’s ruler, Yahya Sinwar, reportedly wrote to Haniyeh in May 2021 after the terror group’s 11-day clash with Israel: “The Egyptians were attempting to restrain the escalation, and we caused them to leave the picture with empty hands. In their place, the Qataris came, and we gave them an opportunity to dictate the fruits of diplomacy.”

Qatar subsequently hit out at the report, calling the documents “fabricated,” and asserting that it was another “attempt to sow tension and division between Qatar and the United States at a crucial stage in our efforts to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.”

“This tactic has been used previously by those who want diplomacy to fail. They do not want Qatar’s work with the Trump administration – on the Gaza file and other regional files – to succeed in bringing peace to the region,” the Qatari statement continued.

“Similar methods have been used against those who have spoken out against the continuation of the war or worked diplomatically to bring the hostages home including members of President Trump’s administration, in an effort to discredit them and undermine the diplomatic process,” the Qatari statement continued. “Their efforts will not succeed. No fabricated documents will weaken the bond between Qatar and the United States.