Qatari PM meets Haniyeh to push ceasefire as US blames ‘psychopath’ Sinwar for deadlock
Source says main stumbling block remains Hamas’s demand for Gaza war to end in first phase and Israel’s insistence that all hostages are freed before fighting stops
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met Tuesday with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, pressing him to compromise on some of the revisions the terror group submitted last week to Israel’s hostage-for-ceasefire proposal, a government official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
Another source familiar with the matter said the main stumbling blocks to a deal remain Hamas’s demand for Israel to agree to a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of IDF troops in the first phase of the deal, while Israel insists it will only agree to end the war after all hostages are released and after Hamas has been removed from power.
Meanwhile, the US assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs called Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar a “psychopath” and “messianic,” as she was asked during testimony at a Senate subcommittee hearing to characterize the role Qatar has played in mediating between Israel and Hamas throughout the war triggered by the terror group’s October 7 onslaught.
Leaf acknowledged there have long been mixed feelings in Israel regarding the role of Qatar, which has hosted Hamas leaders and provided funds to Gaza at the request of the US and Israel.
“Qatar really does punch above its weight, and it has a nimbleness of approach with a variety of actors that we don’t have relations with, but that we need to communicate with… They have worked tirelessly on this hostage piece,” she said. “There has been very understandable frustration from the families, from the Israeli government [who say], ‘Can’t Qatar do more? Can’t the US put more pressure on Qatar to put more pressure on Hamas?’
“There’s a cadre of political officials of Hamas in Doha — and boy do they squeeze them, I can assure you they squeeze them — But at the end of the day, there’s one guy 10 stories below the ground: a psychopath, messianic in his own belief that he has established himself in history, and [he believes that] there’s a sunk cost of having lost thousands of fighters and carnage in Gaza,” Leaf continued, indicating that Doha doesn’t have the same leverage over Sinwar, who is considered the ultimate decision-maker.
“Qatar’s ability to do the indirect mediation is critical to our interest and to Israel’s, but I would say they have become a very trusted partner of ours,” she added.
Along with Egypt, Qatar has been the leading mediator in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which last week called for “amendments” to the Israeli proposal for releasing hostages and a ceasefire that the Biden administration has strongly pushed the terror group to accept. Though Israel viewed Hamas’s response to the latest proposal as a full-on rejection, talks on a potential deal have continued.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
