Every day, Qatar is a little more in the sights of Israel, at least of some of its leaders. Mediator state in the conflict triggered following the attack by Hamas, whose leadership it hosts, Qatar would be “responsible” for the attack of October 7, accused Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli Minister of Finance and figure of the ‘far right.
“Qatar is a country that supports and finances terrorism,” he said. The emirate “is the godfather of Hamas and is largely responsible for the massacres committed by Hamas on Israeli citizens,” Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the “Religious Zionism” party, said on the social network “One thing is clear: Qatar will not be involved in any way in what happens in Gaza after the war.”
Debate is growing in Israel over the best way to secure the release of hostages still held by Hamas, as military operations intensify in the southern Gaza Strip. Qatar, Egypt and the United States are trying to mediate in order to obtain a new truce, allow the release of the hostages still being held and deliver more humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. The Hamas political office affirmed Thursday that Doha was indeed “actively involved” in negotiations for exchanges between Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages.
A summit meeting in the coming days
According to information revealed the same day by the Washington Post, confirmed Friday to AFP by a security source from a state involved in the negotiations, American President Joe Biden asked CIA Director William Burns to go to Europe in the coming days to meet the heads of the security services. Israeli and Egyptian intelligence, David Barnea and Abbas Kamel, and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. They are expected to discuss a “major deal” that would involve the release of all hostages still held in Gaza and a long truce between Israel and Hamas.
Joe Biden discussed with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the “latest events in Israel and Gaza, including efforts to free hostages kidnapped by Hamas”, the White House announced Friday, all ensuring that no “imminent” announcement was to be expected.
Despite the efforts, Doha’s role is considered “problematic” by Benjamin Netanyahu. “I have no illusions about them,” he said in a conversation with families of hostages, the audio recording of which was broadcast Wednesday by Israeli Channel 12. The Qataris “have means of putting pressure (Editor’s note: on Hamas). And why? Because they finance them.” In return, Qatar said it was “dismayed”, deeming these remarks “irresponsible and harmful to efforts to save innocent lives”.
As recounted The Times of Israel, Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel defended Qatar on Friday as mediator in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, after the broadcast of this audio recording of the Israeli Prime Minister. Asked by journalists whether Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks had delayed negotiations on a new hostage release agreement, Vedant Patel said he had “no assessment to make on these comments or on some of the recordings that have circulated “. “What I can say is that Qatar has been an essential, irreplaceable regional partner, not only with respect to the current conflict, but also for other U.S. priorities in the region.”
Qatar welcomes ICJ decision
“We can only see that the agendas of each side are colliding at the moment, between a Benjamin Netanyahu who appears to want to continue the war at all costs, a Hamas which says it is ready to accept a truce and the Qataris who seek to achieve an agreement which, like a trophy, would crown their diplomacy”, observes from France 24 Karim Sader. According to this political scientist and consultant specializing in Gulf countries, the Israeli Prime Minister, “perhaps frustrated by the results of his offensive in Gaza, is fed up with seeing Qatar play a double game, welcoming on one side those responsible for Hamas and on the other a significant American military presence.
Doha hosts the political leadership of Hamas, including its leader Ismaïl Haniyeh, and has in recent years granted hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the population of Gaza, under Hamas control since 2007.
On Friday, Qatar welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which called on Israel to prevent any possible act of “genocide” in Gaza. In a statement, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs “welcomed the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ”, welcoming a “victory for humanity […] and international justice.