In a lengthy official statement, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced last night that it was suspending its mediation efforts to reach a truce in Gaza, blaming both Israel and Hamas for the impasse in negotiations, accusing both sides of a lack of of good faith. However, the ministry’s spokesman, Majed Bin Mohammad Al-Ansari, pointed out that once Israel and Hamas decide to show goodwill, then Qatar will continue its diplomatic efforts.

Unwanted in the country

Yesterday’s announcement by the Emirate put an end – at least for the time being – to the persistent press leaks that have seen the current government tell Hamas representatives that they have become unwelcome in the country and should leave soon. Already yesterday evening, the state Israeli television and the Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat insisted that the possibility of moving the leading delegation of the organization to another country in the region with Syria, Iran, Algeria being the dominant ones had begun to be discussed or Turkey.

In particular, the possibility of the establishment of the leadership of Hamas in Turkey was particularly commented on in the Israeli state media, which rushed to seek comment from diplomatic circles of the State Department, which allegedly “do not look favorably on such a development”. However, the interest shown by journalistic circles in Israel, the USA and Saudi Arabia regarding the possibility that Turkey is ready to host Hamas was not unjustified. When the question of whether Qatar would wish to continue hosting the Palestinian organization had arisen in the past, its then leader Ismail Haniyeh had immediately gone to Turkey, in order to ascertain the dispositions of the Erdogan administration.

Egypt promotes Gaza’s incorporation into the Palestinian Authority

Parallel mobility is also observed in the second intermediary country. Of interest are information broadcast in Israeli and Arab media, which lead Egypt to declare its willingness to train a Palestinian Authority police force on its territory. The ultimate goal of this proposal would be to entrust the Palestinian Authority police with maintaining order in post-war Gaza.

A positive attitude towards this Egyptian proposal seems to be maintained by the Biden administration, Britain and Canada, whose officials participated in Cairo in relevant meetings with local actors of the country’s security services. On the other hand, the state-owned Israeli media interprets the information coming from Egypt as a clear indication from the Biden administration and many other Western countries that they wish to hand over the re-governance of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority as soon as possible.

However, the Israeli side refuses to give the “green light” to such a development, believing that it will be preferable to serve Israeli aspirations, to wait until January 20, 2025 – the day on which he assumes his presidential duties in the White House the newly elected, Donald Trump.