Qatar has resumed its mediation between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist terrorist group Hamas with a view to a truce in Gaza, a source close to the discussions told AFP on Thursday, after a temporary suspension of its role as mediator in the conflict.
Qatar has “resumed mediation”, said this source on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions, without providing details on possible recent meetings between officials.
Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani revealed Thursday that Donald Trump’s advisers had informed him of the US president-elect’s desire to reach a hostage deal before he takes office, scheduled for January 20.
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Al Thani made the statement in an interview with Sky News, in response to a question about Trump’s warning on Monday that there would be “a terrible price to pay” if the hostages did not were not released before taking office.
“We expected such a statement and we hope that it will bear fruit and be conveyed to both parties concerned,” said the Qatari Prime Minister.
“His team told us that they wanted the question of the release of the hostages to be resolved immediately, if not today. ”added Al Thani.
“We hope to resolve this situation before the president-elect takes office, because our priority is to stabilize the situation in Gaza and restore regional security,” he also stressed.
Also last week, Republican Senator Linsey Graham told Axios that Trump wanted a hostage deal reached before he returned to the White House.
In October, the Times of Israel revealed that Trump delivered this message in person to Netanyahu during their meeting this summer at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s residence.
Steve Witkoff arrives at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show, October 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Finally, last month, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s new envoy to the Middle East, visited Qatar and Israel to launch a diplomatic campaign aimed at moving this issue forward, according to a source close to the talks cited by Reuters.
During this visit in late November, Witkoff reportedly met separately with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
In Israel, he also met families of hostages, according to an Israeli official.
He “spoke with them about the Trump team’s efforts to try to negotiate the deal before the inauguration,” the official said.
The source added that it is likely that Hamas negotiators will return to Doha, the Qatari capital, to facilitate a new round of negotiations.
“A new round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas is planned, which should be held soon in Doha, but no precise date has been set,” the source said.
Responding to the Trump-Witkoff efforts, a U.S. official said President Joe Biden’s aides were aware of contacts between Israeli and Qatari leaders.
According to this official, the Biden team considers that the agreement on the Gaza Strip, supported by Trump’s representative, is a continuation of that promoted by the current administration.
Officially, it is the Biden administration, not Witkoff, which is leading American efforts to restart negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Biden team kept the Trump camp informed, but no direct cooperation took place between the two parties, said this American official on condition of anonymity.
The Biden administration does not consider it necessary to coordinate its efforts with Witkoff, believing that its discussions with regional actors are more aimed at familiarizing itself with the files than at engaging in real negotiations, he added.
Finally, a source close to the meetings indicated that Witkoff hopes to finalize an agreement before January 20, the deadline that Donald Trump, president-elect, himself set. Which seems to suggest that the future Trump administration does not intend to wait until his inauguration to take charge of this issue.
-Protesters calling for a hostage deal during a rally in Jerusalem on November 23, 2024. (Orna Kupferman/Pro-Democracy Movement)
Furthermore, according to Axios, citing two Israeli officials, Israel gave Hamas an updated proposal for a hostage deal.
This proposal would be similar to the phased plan discussed in August, but it now focuses primarily on completing the first step. Hamas has also shown a new openness to a partial agreement, the officials say.
In its updated proposal, Israel is now willing to consider the option of a ceasefire that would last up to 60 days, whereas previously the first phase was only 42 days. According to Axios, during the ceasefire, all living female hostages, all living male hostages over the age of 50, and people with serious health conditions would be released. Israel had requested 33 living hostages from these groups, but estimates that there are no longer that many alive.
Israel remains willing to release hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, some of whom are serving life sentences for deadly terrorist attacks.
According to Axios, Prime Minister Netanyahu and several senior ministers and security chiefs approved the proposal on Sunday, then took it to the Egyptians, who presented it to Hamas in Cairo on Monday and Tuesday.
The updated hostage deal proposal presented to Hamas by Egypt was not an Israeli offer, an Israeli official later clarified Times of Israelbut rather an Egyptian proposal on which Israel is completely open to discussion.
This official notes that the proposal is not about the end of the war, but an extended ceasefire that will allow the release of hostages in the “humanitarian” category – the elderly, children, women and the seriously injured.
Hamas has still not indicated whether it is willing to discuss the proposal, and if it does, Israel will send a delegation to Cairo to negotiate, the official said.
Israel “has an interest” in Egypt remaining at the center of the talks, the official said, adding that Qatar remains informed behind the scenes and will want to participate fully in mediation if progress is made. “Turkey has no role to play,” the official said, contradicting earlier reports.
The official said US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat this week to punish those responsible if the hostages are not released before his inauguration should have a positive effect on attempts to reach a deal. “Hamas takes this seriously, especially now that it is isolated in the countryside.” Israel has begun to exert greater military pressure on Hamas in Gaza in recent days, the official said.
Massad Boulos listens as Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign office, October 18, 2024, in Hamtramck, Michigan. (Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Meanwhile, Massad Boulos – chosen as Donald Trump’s Middle East adviser – told the French newspaper The Point that “the two parties have agreed on the broad outlines of an agreement”.
“The war is practically over,” he said. “There is virtually no significant military activity left. The only remaining issue is the hostages, and the parties have already agreed several times to an exchange between hostages and prisoners
Palestinians. »
“The broad outlines of the agreement have already been established and only very small details remain to be resolved on a few names,” Boulos said, “the number of people released [du côté palestinien] and the period during which the exchanges should take place. »
Regarding Lebanon, the official who spoke to the Times of Israel on the Egyptian proposal, denied French claims that Israel had violated the terms of the ceasefire with Hezbollah. “There are agreements in the parallel convention with the United States that allow us to act against any threat, and that is what we are doing.”
The official stressed that the convention allows Israel to strike not only active threats, but also attempts to build military capabilities.
If there are violations that do not pose immediate threats, Israel will go through the Franco-American monitoring body, the official said, but that body is still being developed. “We have to let him prove himself. But we also want to establish that we will act against all threats.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, for his part declared this Thursday to his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, in Malta, that the opportunity presented itself to advance the agreement on the release of the hostages.
According to his office, Sa’ar insisted that Israel is serious about reaching a deal, sticking to the message he conveyed to other foreign ministers at the Organization for Security and Safety meeting. cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
They also discussed the fighting in Syria and Lebanon.
