The talks between Israel and terrorist-stamped Hamas have once again come to a standstill. Now, Qatar is announcing that Hamas's unwillingness to make concessions is putting an end to meaningful negotiations.
"The Qataris have informed both Israel and Hamas that as long as one party refuses to negotiate an agreement, they cannot mediate. As a consequence, Hamas's political office (in Qatar) has played out its role," says a diplomat to the AFP news agency.
It's probably a way to put pressure on Hamas, and maybe even the USA and Israel, I would think, says Anders Persson, a political scientist at Linnaeus University with a focus on the region, to TT.
Expelled from the country
However, the hope of continued talks and, in the long run, a ceasefire in Gaza, still remains – if Hamas "shows a genuine willingness to return to the negotiating table", says the source to AFP.
I think we're entering a period where a lot will happen in the war in different ways. I think this is connected to that. I have a very hard time seeing that Qatar wouldn't negotiate in the future if it's something that, let's say, (US President-elect Donald) Trump wants them to do, says Anders Persson.
Earlier on Saturday, Qatari and American sources reported that Qatar is expelling the Hamas leaders who have been allowed to live in the country, citing Hamas's entrenched positions in the negotiations.
Israel: Logical
Representatives of Israel's delegation in Qatar welcome the news.
"There's a logic to it", says one of the mediators to Times of Israel and continues: "Hamas is a murderous terrorist organization that must be struck down globally instead of being accommodated in other countries. Israel and the USA have, for a longer period, tried to persuade Qatar to expel Hamas."
Anders Persson, however, is not convinced that the USA and Israel want Hamas to be expelled from Qatar.
It can make the negotiations even more complicated if Hamas ends up in Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, or Algeria, he says and continues:
The advantage of having Hamas in Qatar is that there's an address to negotiate with.
Qatar has played a significant role in the protracted negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza war. The USA has put pressure on the country, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a warning to Hamas last summer that its leaders could be expelled from Qatar if the negotiations didn't succeed.
