Qatar’s PM confirms resumption of Gaza mediation role, cites fresh momentum for deal
Al Thani says there’s been ‘a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration to achieve a deal,’ even before Trump’s term starts
Confirming Qatar’s return to mediation between Hamas and Israel, the Gulf nation’s prime minister said Saturday that momentum had returned to talks aimed at cementing a truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza following the election of Donald Trump as US president.
“We have sensed, after the election, that the momentum is coming back,” Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum for political dialogue, adding there had been “a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration in order to achieve a deal, even before the president comes to the office.”
This, he said, had affected the Qatari decision to get talks “back on track” over the last two weeks.
“We hope to get things done as soon as possible. We hope that the willingness of the parties to engage in good faith continues,” he said.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, recently traveled to Qatar and Israel in order to kickstart efforts, while a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Times of Israel that Doha had quietly resumed its role as a mediator at the behest of officials from Trump’s transition team.
The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release after 14 months of war.
But Qatar booted the Hamas leaders in late October, with Biden administration officials telling The Times of Israel that they requested Doha order their expulsion due to the terror group’s months-long refusal to constructively engage in negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Qatar maintains that the decision to oust Hamas officials was one it made on its own, framing the move as part of a decision to temporarily halt its mediation efforts, which it vowed to only resume when both sides demonstrate willingness to negotiate in good faith.
From Qatar, the Hamas leaders fled to Turkey, which also has close ties to the Palestinian terror group, though the Biden administration quickly spoke out against Ankara’s decision to allow them in.
Related: Exclusive – Trump aides asked Qatar to recall ousted Hamas chiefs in bid to revive hostage talks
The Qatari prime minister also brushed off the prospect of Qatar facing greater pressure over the status of its political bureau for Hamas, which the Gulf state has hosted since 2012 with the blessing of the United States. He called the office a “platform to convene between the different parties,” adding that Qatar was not “expected to enforce solutions” on the Palestinian terrorists.
Al Thani explained that while there were “some differences” in the approach to an agreement by the outgoing and incoming US administrations, “we didn’t see or recognize any disagreement on the goal itself to end the war.”
London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported, meanwhile, that Hamas had begun efforts to check the status of hostages held by other terror groups in Gaza, as it expected potential movement on a hostage and ceasefire deal with Israel.
Palestinian sources cited by the paper said Hamas officials had contacted other groups to receive updates on the condition of hostages they hold.
Israel says 100 hostages remain in Gaza. Media reports in Israel have indicated that some half are believed to be alive.
Also Saturday, a source close to Hamas negotiators told AFP that a new round of talks could “most likely” begin in the coming week in Cairo.
“Based on the contacts with the mediators, we expect a new round of negotiations to begin in Cairo most likely this week to discuss ideas and proposals for a ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners,” the source said on condition of anonymity, referring to the release of hostages in return for Israel freeing hundreds of convicted terrorists.
“The Egyptians, Qataris, Turks and other parties are making commendable efforts to end the war,” the source said.
Trump told Netanyahu over the summer that if he won the election, he wanted the war in Gaza wrapped up by the time he returned to office, two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
That message has intensified since Trump’s election victory and was apparently passed along by Trump’s newly appointed envoy Witkoff.
“We had heard this from his team… that they want this to be resolved now — today, even,” Al Thani told Sky News on Wednesday.
One source told The Times of Israel that the return of Hamas officials was only temporary in the context of the new hostage negotiation effort.
After brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah last week, the Biden administration maintained that deal left Hamas isolated and potentially more willing to compromise in hostage negotiations. The US said it was launching another effort to secure a deal alongside Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.
Earlier this week, aides to Netanyahu told reporters that Egypt had crafted a new proposal that had them increasingly optimistic. They pointed to a fiery threat made by Trump on social media in which he warned of “hell to pay” in the Middle East if all hostages were not released by his inauguration, and they argued that Hamas was facing unprecedented pressure to compromise.
Netanyahu’s aides said the Egyptian proposal envisioned a temporary ceasefire and was largely the same as the first phase of the three-phase framework that the mediators had been pushing for months.
However, rather than the 40- to 60-day initial ceasefire being followed up with another two phases that included a permanent end to the war, this latest Egyptian proposal would allow Israel to resume fighting after it ends, rather than having to effectively commit up-front to a permanent ceasefire, the Netanyahu aides said.
But an Israeli official familiar with the talks and an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that no such Egyptian proposal exists and that what Netanyahu’s aides discussed was actually a new Israeli proposal that was passed along to Egypt.
The Israeli and Arab officials say that the chances that the Netanyahu-backed proposal will succeed are very low because Hamas won’t budge from its refusal to release the hostages unless Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw its troops from Gaza in exchange.
Egypt would not craft a proposal that doesn’t lead to a permanent ceasefire, the Arab diplomat said.
Netanyahu has vowed he will not agree to proposals that require Israel to permanently end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages. His far-right coalition partners have threatened to collapse the coalition if he does so, with some of them concerned it will allow for Hamas’s revival while others appear to fear it will prevent them from moving forward with their desire to re-establish settlements in Gaza.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
