How did an emirate nine times smaller than Portugal become crucial in the ceasefire negotiations and hostage and prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas? The answer lies in the fact that Qatar welcomed the political leadership of the Palestinian terrorist group for ten years, supported the Gaza Strip during that period and the Israeli blockade with more than a million dollars, and has maintained contact channels with Israel ever since. 1995 (even without maintaining official diplomatic relations) and have close ties with the US.
This combination of factors makes Qatar an important partner in the search for solutions to the conflict, catapulting Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (in power since 2013) to the top of international politics. A role that is not new for the emirate, which in recent years has facilitated dialogue with the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Houthi rebels in Yemen or the Iranian regime. He even negotiated a deal for Russia to return four Ukrainian children to their families.
“That is gentle power on steroids, mobilized for America’s interests,” former US ambassador to Qatar Patrick Theros told AP. “Hosting organizations with which the US cannot engage is part of this policy,” he added to.
This quest by Qatar for a greater international focus began during the time of the previous emir, father of the current one, who founded the Al-Jazeera television channel in 1996 – which began broadcasting its channel in English ten years later.
“Qatar is one of the smallest countries in the region in terms of population [menos de 2,7 milhões de pessoas]. But he has been able to play an outsized role, mainly due to: a) his ambition; b) your financial capacity. It is one of the richest countries in the region. And third, you feel like you can offer something that contributes to peace and security. You cannot have prosperity if there is war in your backyard. So there is also some self-interest in it,” Professor Bader Al-Saif, professor of history at Kuwait University, told American public radio NPR.
With the outbreak of civil war in Syria, Doha began welcoming Hamas’s political leadership in 2012, at the request of the US. At the time, the Americans also took advantage of Qatar’s mediation to enter into dialogue with the Taliban. The US has one of its largest military bases in the region there, essential for operations in Syria or Iraq. Despite not having diplomatic relations with Israel, the emirate maintains contacts with the Hebrew state, which even had a trade office in the country. But it has also been one of Gaza’s main pillars, paying civil servants’ salaries and providing a stipend for families. It is estimated to generate $30 million every month.
In addition to Qatar, Egypt (the other country bordering Gaza besides Israel) also participated in the negotiations.
Source: DN
