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Qatar stated Saturday that it has suspended its position as a mediator for a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas owing to a lack of readiness by the parties to achieve an accord.
Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, stated on Saturday that the State of Qatar informed the parties 10 days prior, during the final attempts to secure an agreement, that it would suspend its mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel if no agreement was achieved in that round.
The statement highlighted Qatar’s departure from mediation efforts, which the nation has been a prominent part of for more than a year. After months of stop-and-go discussions, attempts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal—a major priority for President Joe Biden—remain deadlocked.
Officials in Doha have also decided to shut Hamas’ political office in the Qatari capital, a diplomat familiar with the decision told CNN.
Doha decided “about a week ago to suspend the office because the parties aren’t negotiating in good faith,” the diplomat added. “The office won’t be operational, so (Hamas) may leave. The office might open again if discussions restart.”
US and Qatari officials told CNN on Friday that Qatar took the decision to throw out Hamas following a request from the US to do so. The diplomatic source said the decision to shutter the office was taken unilaterally, not due to US pressure.
The shutdown of the office’s activities may compel Hamas officials to leave Qatar, but they have not been given a timeframe or ultimatum, the diplomat added.
When CNN called the White House National Security Council for clarity Saturday, the council refused to comment and pointed to what a senior administration official stated Friday.
“After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, its leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner,” a senior administration official told CNN on Friday, referring to Hamas.
“Qatar has played an invaluable role in helping to mediate a hostage deal and was instrumental in securing the release of nearly 200 hostages last year. However, considering Hamas’ persistent refusal to release even a small number of captives, notably most recently during discussions in Cairo, their continuing presence in Doha is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” the official said.
Qatari spokesman Al-Ansari alluded to “inaccurate” information in his Saturday statement.
A Hamas source told CNN early Saturday that news of the group’s withdrawal from Doha were “baseless” and a “pressure tactic.”
Throughout the duration of the battle and discussions to bring the hostages home, US officials have pushed Qatar to use the threat of expulsion as leverage in its talks with Hamas. The ultimate incentive for Qatar deciding to force Hamas out came lately following the murder of Israeli American captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Hamas’ rejection of yet another peace offering.
The Hamas office might reopen “when both sides demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table with the objective of putting an end to the war,” the diplomatic source added.
In April, Doha took a similar action by temporarily shutting the Hamas office. Officials then left Qatar and headed to Turkey. As discussions stalled, the Biden administration and Israel pushed Doha to send them back, the diplomat told CNN.
CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman, Kylie Atwood, and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this story.
