Doha:

Qatar has warned it is reassessing its role as mediator between Israel and Hamas, raising concerns about a ceasefire and the prospect of the return of hostages.

Since Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, triggering devastating retaliation against Gaza, Qatar has been a key conduit for the Palestinian militant group, which has its political office in Doha.

The gas-rich emirate, which is also home to the region’s largest U.S. military base, successfully precipitated a week-long break in fighting with the release of dozens of Israeli and foreign hostages in late November.

But with months of further talks failing to reach a truce and Qatar facing criticism from Israel, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Wednesday it was time to “completely reassess” its role .

What prompted Qatar to issue the warning?

Qatar has for months rejected Israeli criticism of its mediation, including from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Qatari embassy in Washington also lashed out at Democratic U.S. House of Representatives member Steny Hoyer, who urged the administration to reconsider its relationship with Qatar and called on Doha to pressure Hamas Release the hostages.

Without naming him, Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar had been the victim of “scoring points” by “politicians who try to campaign by belittling the State of Qatar.”

Middle East expert James Dorsey said the prime minister’s statement showed “Qatar is pushing back rather than seriously considering abandoning mediation”, which he called “a key pillar of the country’s soft power”.

He explained that while Qatar was primarily targeting “Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and their supporters in the U.S. Congress,” it was also “trying to pressure the Biden administration to support Qatar.”

Gulf expert Andreas Krieger said Qatar played an “important role” in securing the November hostage exchange and that the emirate was “very unhappy that this was not recognized by everyone, especially in Israel”.

But he also said it was “unlikely that Qatar is truly sincere in trying to withdraw from this mediation effort” because it “monopolizes the relationship in a way that no one else can.”

Why did the negotiations reach a deadlock?

Israel and Hamas accuse each other of failing to make progress on a framework proposed by Qatar, the United States and Egypt that would have halted fighting in Gaza for six weeks and exchange some 40 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Sticking points include Hamas’s longstanding demand for a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, which Israeli officials have repeatedly opposed.

Israel’s Mossad spy agency said last week that Hamas’s rejection of the latest offer showed the militant group “does not want a humanitarian deal and the return of the hostages.”

Will the negotiations end without Qatar?

Hamas’s political office has been located in Qatar since 2012 at the request of the United States.

Krieger said Qatar had become an “indispensable” player in mediation and that while Egypt was involved, “the Egyptians did not have the means that Qatar had”.

“I think the mediation can continue without the Egyptians, but it cannot continue without the Qataris,” the King’s College London academic said.

“If Qatar reduces or ends its role in the negotiations, pressure will increase on it to oust Hamas,” Dorsey said.

If Hamas leaves Qatar, Algeria, Lebanon and Iran – its main backers – are seen as possible bases for its leadership.

“What if all of a sudden Iran (who Americans and Israelis are talking to) comes and attacks Hamas?” Dorsey said.

Sheikh Mohammed announced Qatar’s reassessment alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who held three meetings with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders in Doha on Wednesday. hour speech.

Haniyeh will visit Türkiye this weekend as a guest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“If, for whatever reason, Qatar is forced to withdraw or reduce its role in the negotiations, Turkey is a candidate,” Dorsey said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)