Turkish involvement, Doha apology convinced Hamas to trust US will hold Israel back — official

Mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey used the final hours of negotiations before a deal on Gaza was announced to convince Hamas to buy into assurances from the US that it will prevent Israel from resuming the war once the hostages are released, an Arab diplomat says.

The Arab diplomat says that Qatar and Egypt had long been working to convince Hamas to take the US assurance seriously, but the addition of Turkey into the talks proved decisive, the diplomat adds.

Moreover, Qatar’s ability in pushing the US to extract an apology from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over an attempted strike on the terror group’s leaders in Doha last month also went a long way in boosting Qatar’s stature in Hamas eyes, as it weighed whether to place its trust in Trump that he could hold Jerusalem to the terms of the deal, according to the Arab diplomat.

Another issue finalized over the last 24 hours was the exact parameters of Israel’s initial withdrawal from Gaza, including from the Rafah Crossing, the diplomat says.