Senior Arab official: Flak from US lawmakers pushed Qatar to rethink mediator role
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

WASHINGTON — Criticism of Qatar by a growing number of US lawmakers from both sides of the aisle contributed to Qatar’s decision yesterday to announce a re-evaluation of its role as mediator in the long-stagnant hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas, a senior Arab official tells The Times of Israel.
While clarifying that the majority of Qatar’s frustration is directed at the Israeli government, which has led much of the criticism against Doha, the official notes that recent remarks from Congress members also played a role in the decision to re-evaluate the mediation role.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials have for months argued that Qatar could be doing more to pressure Hamas in the hostage negotiations, either by threatening to kick the terror group’s leaders out of the country or by freezing their assets.
However, a pair of government officials revealed to The Times of Israel last month that Qatar’s emir had actually proposed expelling Hamas’s leaders shortly after October 7, but was told by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to first focus on trying to leverage Doha’s contacts with the terror group in order to negotiate a hostage deal.
Doha — along with the US and Egypt — was successful in late November, brokering a seven-day truce that freed over 100 hostages. But the talks have failed to bear fruit since, leading to mounting criticism of Qatar and its ties to Hamas.
Senior Democratic lawmaker Rep. Steny Hoyer called earlier this week for the US to re-evaluate its ties to Qatar if Doha fails to pressure Hamas in the negotiations, and a group of Republican lawmakers submitted legislation aimed at stripping Doha of its coveted status as a major non-NATO ally.
Qatar asserts that it is merely a mediator without the ability to pressure the sides and that only Israel and Hamas are responsible for whether or not there is an agreement.
In announcing its decision to re-evaluate its role as a mediator, Qatar’s prime minister did not provide a timeline, though some analysts speculate that Doha is unlikely to abandon its position.