Anthony Blinken at a press conference in Qatar/Reuters
In the complex world of Middle Eastern diplomacy, Qatar proves to be a paradox. It positions itself as a mediator and peacemaker, assisting in negotiations for the release of hostages, along with active participation in regional discussions - a position that placed it in the international spotlight after the attack led by Hamas on October 7.
This role, as expressed by senior Qatari officials during my visit to the Kingdom, reveals a nation striving for a greater purpose in the international arena. Their efforts, they argue, are in line with the broader goals of world powers such as the US and Israel, which aim to foster stability in the turbulent Middle East.
Last week I conducted more than 15 hours of interviews with senior Qatari government officials, who asked to remain anonymous. They Eager to share the complex history between the two countries, and the current state of their relationship with Israel over the past decades, they were especially eager to tell about the vital role they have played in the past six months.
Qatar turns out to be a paradox. and positions itself as a mediator and peacemaker/Reuters
At the focus of all the interviews I conducted in Qatar was its perceived support for Hamas as well as their efforts to free the 253 abductees, many of them Israelis, who were kidnapped on October 7 and many of whom are still being held in Hamas tunnels throughout Gaza.
Qatar's global resume as a mediator and negotiator in hostage deals, and their relationship with Hamas, is what allowed Doha to play such a prominent role as a mediator in the hostage crisis, officials in the kingdom said and testified that they were able to produce a potential hostage release deal almost immediately after October 7.
"We contacted Israel very shortly after October 7, about two days later, to inform them that we had reached an agreement with Hamas on the release of all the abductees who are civilians," revealed a senior official close to the Qatari government during a conversation with the Jerusalem Post. The conversation took place last week, when he broke his daily Ramadan fast.
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Israel was determined to enter Gaza and free the hostages on its own/official website, no
Israel did not react so quickly, the source explained. "We were answered by Israel only on October 16," added the source, stating that Israel was determined to enter Gaza and try to free its hostages on its own, as well as restore deterrence.
When asked about the remaining 134 hostages in Gaza, they all claimed that Hamas does not share information about their whereabouts or condition with them. When asked if they could get information about who was alive or dead, they all said they didn't get that information, even though they asked for it.
When I asked a senior Qatari official about "the perceptions of the Israeli public that Qatar hosts Hamas in Doha and sends suitcases of cash to Gaza", he hesitated.
These officials emphasized that the humanitarian aid and financial support to Gaza, "which is often misinterpreted," were in fact actions taken at the request of the Israeli and US governments. This aid was specifically targeted at the poorest families in Gaza, with Qatar strictly transferring funds to recipients listed by an operations coordinator. The government in the territories (Matfash).
Hosting Hamas leaders in Doha - a decision made at the request of the United States/Reuters
In addition, the hosting of Hamas leaders in Doha, a controversial issue, was revealed as a strategic decision made at the request of the United States. According to them, this move is intended to foster dialogue and supervision and "absolutely not support the group's ideologies or actions."
"The governments of Israel and the United States are the ones who asked us to prevent a humanitarian crisis and to financially support the citizens of Gaza, as well as the employees of the Palestinian Authority, in order to maintain the sense of stability in the region," before the Israel-Hamas war, the Qatari official revealed. The Americans and the Israelis "were also the ones who asked us Let the leaders of Hamas stay in Doha, because they prefer them in Doha than in Tehran or Beirut."
Officials mentioned Smotrich and Ben Gvir as reasons for the failure on October 7/Flash 90, Avshalom Shoshani
Mediation for the US
The first two abductees released by Hamas were the American Judith Ra'anan, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 17, who live in Illinois, almost two weeks after they were kidnapped near Gaza. He explained that Qatar was involved in every step of this release, which was a unilateral decision by Hamas to show that they could satisfy their side of a potential hostage deal. He elaborated that these two women were released because of "American pressure" and that "this was a tactic for Hamas to cause the air surveillance to stop without having to sign a deal."
He added: "The operation was very complicated and lasted 12 hours, the Hamas representative in Gaza was unable to communicate with the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) because that Hamas person did not speak English and the Red Cross did not speak Arabic. Our representative in the field was the one who mediated the entire release ".
In another conversation with a senior Qatari government official, I asked how they reacted once they saw the news on October 7. "We were shocked, surprised. It looked like it was the work of ISIS." He added, "We immediately spoke to Hamas, and they initially said, 'These are not our people; this is out of control.'"
According to this official, "We told them that immediate action was needed, to release everyone." When I asked if Hamas had shared photos or proof of life of any of the abductees, all the officials replied that they had never shared such evidence.
When asked how it is that they did not condemn Hamas and its brutal actions, one of the senior government officials said, "Put yourself in our shoes. From January 2023, Israel was run by an extreme right-wing government whose members made terrible statements every day." Several times officials mentioned Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gabir as the reasons for the government's failure on October 7 and the factors that led to the failure of the Israeli security systems. "When we understood the reality on the ground, we immediately changed our approach."
6 Muslim countries in the Middle East discussed the creation of a "day after plan"/Reuters
Qatar as a negotiator
At the government headquarters in Doha, behind closed doors, with many security barriers and in a restricted area, a senior security official in the Qatar government revealed that the foreign ministers of six Muslim countries in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Authority, met recently. We discussed the creation of a "day after plan" for the Palestinian Authority and Gaza, which includes a Palestinian state and normalization with Israel of Saudi Arabia and possibly even Qatar.
The countries are Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. The meeting began immediately after the security conference in Munich last February. According to the senior source, the final plan will be sent to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and will be offered to Israel on his behalf, with the support of the five countries and the Authority.
According to the source, the proposed plan includes three main components designed to create "regional peace". The first and most urgent is the release of hostages by Hamas and a "limited ceasefire". The second is the unification of the leading Palestinian movements, Hamas and Fatah, and "strengthening the Palestinian Authority in the right way."
The financial support for the Palestinian Authority - at the request of the USA and Israel/official website, Photo Marc Israel Sellem
The goal will be to create a single Palestinian leadership in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, while the renewed Authority will be its umbrella. "The issue is the de-radicalization and marginalization of Hamas in order to create a technocratic government, 'not in any way connected to Hamas', for the Palestinians that will later allow real democratic elections. All the parties I spoke with admitted that the current Palestinian Authority is "corrupt" and that the only reason they still support them Economically it is that "the USA and Israel asked us to do this".
The third element is the commitment and investment of all the mentioned Arab countries in supporting and assisting in the establishment of the two-state solution also by creating an international security force in these areas - to ensure the safety of both Israelis and Palestinians. "Hamas understands that they scored an own goal and that the US will not agree to deal with them after the end of the war. They understand that they need to change as a movement. Otherwise, they will not be able to be part of the new Palestinian Authority that will be built."
While many in the Israeli political system see Qatar as an enemy of Israel, 'Qatar should not be accepted as a mediator,' MK Amichai Shikli, the Diaspora Minister, told the Jerusalem Post in December, The Israeli security forces thought otherwise.
Qatar's complex role in the geopolitics of the Middle East is complex and ambiguous/Reuters
They visited Qatar frequently and asked them to mediate on behalf of Israel and the US. In an era when Israelis have no faith in their leadership but in a renewed faith in their security entities, it is not clear whether the Israeli public will rely on issues of national security and strategic relations in the heads of the Shin Bet and the Mossad or in the Israeli government.
Amidst the modern landscape of Doha, Qatar's complex role in Middle Eastern geopolitics is complex and ambiguous, but there are certainly many shades of gray here, in a world where most of us think it's black or white.
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Qatar
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abducted
Gaza Strip
the Palestinian Authority
Hamas