Qatar denies end of mediation role

The Qatar foreign minister has denied reports that the country has withdrawn from mediating between Israel and Hamas.

Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari, a spokesman for the Gulf state’s foreign affairs ministry, said: “The State of Qatar notified the parties 10 days ago, during the last attempts to reach an agreement, that it would stall its efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel if an agreement was not reached in that round.

“Qatar will resume those efforts with its partners when the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians caused by catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Strip,” he added. “The State of Qatar will then be at the forefront of making every good effort to end the war and return the hostages and prisoners.”

Al Ansari told the Qatari official news agency that the state “will not accept that mediation be a reason for blackmailing it, as we have witnessed manipulation since the collapse of the first pause and the women and children exchange deal, especially in retreating from obligations agreed upon through mediation, and exploiting the continuation of negotiations to justify the continuation of the war to serve narrow political purposes.”

Qatar reiterated its “firm commitment to supporting the brotherly Palestinian people until they obtain all their rights, foremost of which is their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, stressing the centrality of the Palestinian issue to the State of Qatar.”

The spokesman also denied claims that Qatar was closing the Hamas office in Doha, saying “the main goal of the office in Qatar is to be a channel of communication between the concerned parties.”

“This channel has contributed to achieving a ceasefire in previous stages, and contributed to maintaining calm in the Strip in the lead to exchanging hostages and detainees of women and children in November of last year,” he added.

A senior US official told Reuters on Friday that Hamas leaders “should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner,” after the terror organisation rejected repeated proposals to release the hostages.

“We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas’s rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal,” the official said.

Senior US officials thank Qatar, a major US ally, frequently for its ongoing efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage-release deal. The Gulf state has long harboured Khaled Mashaal, Hamas’s acting political leader.

Matthew Miller, the US State Department spokesman, was asked at a press briefing last month why Washington wasn’t pressuring Qatar to push Mashaal into a deal, given that the terror leader is a guest in the Gulf state.

Miller cited the prior “tireless efforts” and “intense focus” of Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani to try to seal an agreement.

“They have a channel with Hamas that is productive for trying to reach this agreement,” Miller said. “The fact is it’s Hamas that holds the hostages, and so it’s Hamas with whom they have to negotiate.”

In September, the US Justice Department unsealed charges against Mashaal for his role in orchestrating the October 7 attacks.

In a press release, the Justice Department declared, “On October 7, Hamas terrorists, led by these defendants, murdered nearly 1,200 people, including over 40 Americans, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians … The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’s operations. These actions will not be our last.”

Doha has welcomed Hamas officials since 2012 as part of an agreement with Washington.

On Friday, 14 Republican senators called on the State Department to immediately freeze assets of Hamas leaders living in Qatar. The senators also urged the Biden administration to ask Doha to “end its hospitality to Hamas’s senior leadership.”

Al Thani has reiterated his position since October 7 that Hamas’s presence in his country is contingent on the usefulness of the ongoing negotiations.