Qatar is stepping back from its mediator role between Israel and Hamas — marking a shocking turning point in the faltering year-long negotiations.
Doha told Hamas officials late last month to leave the country, a diplomat familiar with the issue told the Times of Israel — confirming earlier reports in the US.
Qatar decided to pull out of the negotiations on its own because neither Israel nor Hamas was seemingly willing to compromise in good faith, the diplomat said.
If Qatar is no longer mediating, there was no reason for it to allow Hamas to maintain offices in the country, they explained.
Qatar is likely to return to the deal-making if both sides show “serious political willingness” to reach an agreement, a diplomatic source told the Associated Press.
The attempted discussions over hostage releases and potential cease-fires were mired in “politics and elections” for both Israel and Hamas officials, the diplomat lamented to the Times of Israel.
Neither faction showed a “serious attempt to secure peace,” and both backed out of prior commitments after making initial promises for “political optics,” they added.
The diplomat’s concerns echoed comments from ousted defense minister Yoav Gallant, who told the families of the hostages this week that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was going to war for political reasons as opposed to security ones, the Times of Israel noted.
A senior Hamas official, however, denied that Qatar had actually expelled the terror group.
“We have nothing to confirm or deny regarding what was published by an unidentified diplomatic source and we have not received any request to leave Qatar,” the official told the AFP.
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not comment on the issue, but one, official suggested that the news would be a welcome change in the negotiation process.
“There’s a logic to it. The moment that [the Qataris] expel Hamas there is no more advantage in mediation and it becomes superfluous,” they said.
“Hamas is a murderous terror organization that needs to be suppressed globally rather than receiving emergency lodgings in any country.
“It’s been a while already that Israel and the US have been pushing for Qatar to expel Hamas.”
Also on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that they had raided a Hezbollah launch site responsible for the rocket attack that killed 12 Druze children in Majdal Shams in July, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The northern Gaza Strip is also supposedly at risk of imminent famine, according to the World Health Organization.
The Biden administration has given Israel until Nov. 12 to make major steps to secure humanitarian improvements in the region, which has been under siege since October 2023, NBC News reported.
The future of the US’ Middle East policies, however, is up in the air in the interim between the election and President-Elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
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