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Qatar’s prime minister said the Gulf state was re-evaluating its role in mediating between Israel and Hamas to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza, saying Doha’s efforts were being undermined by politicians with “petty interests”.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said he “complained about the political exploitation” of Doha’s diplomacy by some politicians who were “marketing their election campaigns through defaming Qatar’s role.”
Sheikh Mohammed’s comments on Wednesday evening came after US Democratic Congressman Steny Hoyer said Hamas was using Qatar to demand more concessions from Israel, adding that if Doha failed to apply pressure on the Palestinian militant group, “the United States must reevaluate its relationship with Qatar.” ”.
Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has played a key role in mediating between Israel and Hamas since the Islamic Movement’s October 7 attack on Israel killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and triggered the war in Gaza.
In November, Doha helped broker a deal that led to a weeklong lull in the conflict during which more than 100 of the approximately 250 hostages seized in the attack were released. In exchange, Israel freed 240 Palestinian women and children held in its prisons and allowed more aid into besieged Gaza, where more than 33,000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian officials.
Months of subsequent diplomatic efforts to secure a broader prisoner-hostage agreement to halt the war and secure the release of the remaining prisoners have run into difficulty due to wide gaps between Israel and Hamas.
This includes Hamas’s demand that any deal end in a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government rejects.
Egypt, the only country other than Israel to border Gaza, has traditionally played an important role in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, as well as other Palestinian factions.
Since October 7, Cairo has also played a key role in supporting the delivery of aid to Gaza.
But the war has exacerbated deep economic and social pressures in the Arab state of 100 million people, prompting donors and allies, including the IMF, World Bank, EU and United Arab Emirates, to provide a plan this year $55 billion bailout to strengthen the country. economy.
Gas-rich Qatar, one of the United States’ most important Arab allies, occupies a unique position as it has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012.
Doha’s diplomacy has won praise from the Biden administration – which two years ago designated it a major non-NATO ally – as well as other Western governments. But its relationship with Hamas has faced scrutiny and criticism from some American conservatives, many of them with ties to Israel or American Jewish causes, as well as from Israeli politicians, including Netanyahu.
Over the past decade, Qatar has poured hundreds of millions of dollars in aid into Gaza, which Hamas has controlled since 2007, helping pay the salaries of public workers and supporting poor families.
Qatari officials say the state does not sponsor or finance Hamas, but agreed to host the political bureau after the United States asked it to open a channel with the group more than a decade ago. They added that its aid to the blockaded Strip was coordinated through United Nations agencies and Israel, with the Israeli government having “complete control” over the assistance.
The latest round of hostage talks has failed, with Israel and the United States accusing Hamas of rejecting the latest proposal.
Hopes for a breakthrough have been further dashed by rising tensions between Israel and Iran, after the Islamic republic launched a barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at the Jewish state over the weekend. Tehran said the attack was in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on its consular building in Damascus, which killed seven Revolutionary Guards.
Sheikh Mohammed said on Wednesday that “negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners and hostages are at a delicate and critical stage,” adding that Doha “has been working since day one of the war to stop it and release the hostages.” .
He said Qatar was committed to its role “for humanitarian reasons, but noted that there are limits to this role and the impact it can have.”