DOHA: Qatar’s mediation for a Gaza truce and prisoner release is on hold until Israel and Hamas show “willingness and seriousness” in talks, the Gulf state’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

“Qatar notified the parties 10 days ago, during the last attempts to reach an agreement, that it would stall its efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel if an agreement was not reached in that round,” ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said in a statement, adding that “Qatar would resume those efforts […] when the parties show their willingness and seriousness”.

Earlier, a diplomatic source told AFP that Qatar had withdrawn as a key mediator after concluding that Hamas and Israel were unwilling to negotiate “in good faith”.

In Gaza Strip, the fighting showed no signs of abating as the civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians.

Diplomatic source claims Doha ‘notified both sides, Israel and Hamas, as well as the US administration’ of its decision

The Gulf emirate, which has hosted Hamas’s political leadership since 2012 with the blessing of the United States, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed at ending the bombardment that has claimed the lives of more than 43,500 Palestinians, wounded over 100,000 others and displaced millions in over a year.

But the talks, also mediated by Cairo and Washington, have repeatedly hit snags since a one-week truce in November 2023 — the only one so far — with both sides trading blame for the impasse.

“The Qataris informed both the Israelis and Hamas that as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith, they cannot continue to mediate,” said the diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The source added that Doha had already “notified both sides, Israel and Hamas, as well as the US administration” of its decision.

“The Qataris conveyed to the US administration that they would be ready to re-engage in mediation when both sides […] demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table,” said the source.

There was no comment from Egypt and the US.

Hamas’s Doha office

With Gaza truce talks at a deadlock, the Hamas political office in Doha “no longer serves its purpose”, said the source, without specifying whether Qatar intends to ask leaders of the Palestinian group to leave the country.

During talks over the past year, both Qatari and US officials indicated that Hamas would remain in Doha as long as its presence offered a viable channel of communication.

A senior Hamas official in Doha told AFP that “we have not received any request to leave Qatar”.

Despite last November’s brief truce that led to a prisoner exchange, successive rounds of negotiations have failed to end the war.

To break the deadlock near the end of US President Joe Biden’s term and in the run-up to this week’s US elections, Washington and Doha last month announced fresh in-person talks to explore new options.

The diplomatic source said Qatar had “concluded that there is insufficient willingness from either side” to bridge gaps in negotiations. The talks have become “more about politics and elections rather than a serious attempt to secure peace”, the source said.

The conflict has already expanded to Lebanon. Iran, which blamed Israel for carrying out attacks in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran, warned that war could spread beyond the Middle East.

“The world should know that in case of the expansion of war […] insecurity and instability can spread to other regions, even far away,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in speech aired on state TV.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2024