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The Middle East, a region that is illustrious for having proxy wars based on sectarian emotions and political affinity, has countries that, despite little military capabilities, are exerting their influence by playing the role of mediator, and Qatar is one of them. Qatar not only played the role of mediator in the world’s biggest conflicts, such as the Lebanon crisis and the US-Taliban but it is expected to play a role in the Palestine-Israel war. In the last few days, Iran which supports Hamas had its president and foreign minister separate talks with Qatar’s Emir and foreign minister, respectively, discussing the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Iranian foreign minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian also had a meeting with the Hamas leader in Qatar.
Qatar can play a role as a mediator because it has good relations not only with Palestinians, Hamas, and Israel but also with those who support Hamas financially and diplomatically i.e. Iran. For example, in May 2021, a significant conflict occurred between Israel and Palestine, resulting in the loss of many civilian lives, the highest since the 2014 war. Even after the fighting ended, Israel stopped providing aid to Gaza. In August, Qatar persuaded Israel to let it send aid to Gaza. Because of the fighting in May, more than 4,000 homes in Gaza were destroyed or damaged, with the World Bank estimating the losses at approximately $380 million. Egypt and Qatar each pledged $500 million to help with the rebuilding. Qatar, in particular, has given hundreds of millions of dollars to the poorest families in Gaza in recent years. This financial support has been crucial for the impoverished people in Gaza because many of them are unemployed, with an unemployment rate of about 50 percent. It also played the role of mediator when in 2018; Palestine and Israel were on the verge of war because Hamas launched 300 missiles, killing four Israeli people.
Qatar’s connections with Hamas go beyond just providing money; they also have a political relationship. The leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has mostly been living in Doha since 2012, and the headquarters for the political part of the Hamas group is in Qatar’s capital city. Though Qatar supported Lebanon and Palestine in their wars against Israel, Qatar preserved its diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel, arguing that peace in the Middle East can only be achieved through diplomacy, not by military resistance. Qatar was the only Gulf State to allow the opening of an Israeli trade office following the Oslo Accords. However, Qatar’s diplomatic relations with Israel aim to build its soft image in the eyes of American leadership because it had to counter the crisis aftermath of the Gulf countries blockade levied on him for having good relations with Iran and on the accusations of terrorism.
As a result, Qatar gave $250,000 to American groups that support Israel, hired a media expert who is linked with Jewish people on the conservative side in the US, and did a lot of talking to Jewish communities. They also had important American Jewish people who were close to the White House. Therefore, in 2017 USA which recognized the indispensability of the monopoly of Saudi Arabia didn’t strain relations with Qatar despite the Arab blockade imposed on Qatar. Two days ago, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha. He praised the Qatari government for trying to help free hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and for working to stop the conflict in that area from spreading to other places in the region. Secondly, Qatar is only the country providing financial support for developments in Gaza, and Israel is well aware of the fact Qatar can’t breakthrough through the Palestine- Israel conflict due to its limited military capabilities and power.
However, Qatar’s balance relations with Iran and increasing influence in the region can make Hamas not act militarily in the region which is in the favor of Israel has underscored its importance as a mediator and made two countries come closer to each other. Qatar’s foreign policy has two main goals. First, it wants to help with regional conflicts while also protecting its security. Second, it aims to increase its influence in the world. Unlike its neighbors, who have specific beliefs that guide their actions in the Middle East, It values its independence a lot. Over the years, Qatar has made connections with different countries and organizations even some that are in long conflicts with each other. For example, Qatar is friends with Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas, and it also has strong relationships with the US and Israel. Despite the big cost, Qatar is determined to resist the pressure from other Arab countries and won’t change its position. It sees the problem with its Gulf neighbors as a chance to show that it can stay independent and strong against bigger and more powerful countries. Therefore, it is using the conflict between Palestine and Israel to advance national goals: strengthening its regional standing as a mediator and scoring points with the US administration for its contribution to dousing the flames and rehabilitating Gaza.
In the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel, it asked both sides to exercise restraints by holding both sides accountable. According to the experts on the Middle East, Qatar is playing a “dangerous game.” This means that Qatar is taking risks with its actions. In addition to giving a home to some important leaders of the political side of Hamas, Qatar has also started to get involved in negotiations about Israeli hostages in recent days. This indirectly makes Qatar’s role as a mediator more important in the situation.
The writer is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from International Islamic University Islamabad.
