He is a key player in the hostage issue in Gaza, and more broadly in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas, who begins a two-day visit to Paris this Tuesday.
The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, is hosting Emmanuel Macron for his first state visit – the highest level of protocol – since his accession to the throne in Doha thirteen years ago.
“Qatar is particularly working on the release of the hostages, which is a priority for the President of the Republic since we still have three of our fellow citizens hostages in Gaza,” underlines the Élysée.
Last November, during the truce which allowed the release of dozens of hostages, the Emir Al-Thani, influential with the Palestinian Islamist movement whose political leadership he hosts on his territory, had pushed for it to include of the French in the agreement (four of them were released).
A person close to the matter then told Le Parisien that Hamas was reluctant at first, judging France's position too favorable to Israel.
By being the object of such a display of splendor, Qatar confirms that its very ambiguity, both close to the planet's radical Islamists and a partner of the West, gives it an essential status.
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