Qatar has withdrawn its mediation between Israel and Palestinian Hamas after months of unsuccessful efforts to end the war in the Gaza Strip, a diplomatic source said on Saturday.
He also indicated that the Hamas office in Doha “no longer has any reason to exist,” added the same source, without explicitly saying whether the office would be closed.
“The Qataris have informed the Israelis and Hamas that as long as both sides refuse to negotiate a deal in good faith, they cannot continue to mediate. As a result, the Hamas political office (in Doha) no longer has its raison d’être,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
With the United States and Egypt, Qatar had mediated between the two belligerents since a single truce in the conflict in November 2023 which lasted a week and allowed the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for prisoners. Palestinians detained by Israel.
Since then, numerous negotiating sessions have taken place without any results.
Hamas and Israel accuse each other of blocking any agreement, each camp refusing the other’s conditions for a ceasefire in the war triggered on October 7, 2023 by an attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement against Israel.
Swiss
