Israel Matzav

Why not Qatar?

Qatar and Turkey have been vying to replace Egypt as the intermediary between Israel and the 'Palestinians.' Jonathan Schanzer explains why that's not a great idea.

But using the good offices of Qatar is a huge mistake. The same goes for Turkey. In exchange for fleeting calm, the United States will have effectively given approval to these allies-cum-frenemies to continue their respective roles as sponsors of Hamas, which is a designated terrorist group in the United States.

Since a visit to Turkey by Qatar's ruler Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and amidst reports that Meshal has been shuttling between the two countries, Doha and Ankara have been floating terms of a joint cease-fire proposal that would reportedly grant Hamas significant benefits. Specifically, the deal would grant Hamas an open border in Gaza that would allow the group to continue to smuggle rockets and other advanced weaponry at an ever alarming pace.

The Israelis see this as a nonstarter. But the White House is nevertheless working the phones with Qatar and Turkey to see if a deal can be struck.

Since the war broke out in early July, Secretary of State John Kerry has reached out at least three times by phone to Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and six times to his Qatari counterpart, Khalid Al Attiyah (Kerry's Mideast chief boasted last month that the secretary of state "is in very constant contact" with FM Al-Attiyah and even "keeps his number on his own cell phone"). Kerry was also expected to visit Qatar before Egypt's aborted cease-fire proposal.

It is by now no secret that Qatar has emerged as Hamas' home away from home and ATM. Shaikh Tamim's father, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, visited Gaza in 2012 when he was still the ruler of Qatar, pledging $400 million in economic aid. Most recently, Doha tried to transfer millions of dollars via Jordan's Arab Bank to help pay the salaries of Hamas civil servants in Gaza, but the transfer was apparently blocked at Washington's request.

Since 2011, Qatar has been the home of the aforementioned Khaled Meshal, who runs Hamas's leadership. During a recent appearance on Qatar's media network Al Jazeera Arabic, Meshal blessed the individuals who kidnapped and ultimately murdered three Israeli teenagers. He boasted that Hamas was a unified movement and that its military wing reports to him and his associates in the political bureau. American officials have revealed that Qatar also hosts several other Hamas leaders. Israeli authorities reportedly intercepted an individual in April on his way back from meeting a member of Hamas's military wing in Qatar who gave him money and directives intended for Hamas cells in the West Bank.

Israeli and Egyptian officials report that Qatar is so eager for a political win at Cairo's expense that it actually urged Hamas to reject the Egyptian cease-fire initiative last week. Doha is also using its vast petroleum wealth to striking diplomatic effect: one UN official source suggests that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon would not have made it to Doha for cease-fire talks on Sunday if the Qataris hadn't chartered him a plane out of their own pocket.

Sounds like Obama's kind of people.... 

Labels: Ahmet Davutoglu, cease fire, Egypt, Emir of Qatar, Hamas, John Kerry, Qatar, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:24 AM