How Qatar makes itself indispensable as a mediator

How Qatar makes itself indispensable as a mediator

In terms of foreign policy, Qatar is walking a tightrope, but the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is paying off. By acting as a mediator, the desert state is not only polishing up its image.

Suddenly Qatar is being cheered. The agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, which includes a ceasefire and the release of hostages, is a coup for the small, filthy rich Gulf state. US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar for the "important partnership", while Israel's National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi praised the "decisive" diplomatic efforts on X.

The successful mediation in the Gaza war has considerably enhanced Qatar's international reputation. Its image was severely damaged in the West in particular, not least because the 2022 FIFA World Cup led to fierce criticism of the human rights situation in the country. It is now paying off for the Gulf state that it maintains contacts with all kinds of players - and knows how to use them.

Just a few hours after the Hamas massacres on October 7, Qatar approached the USA and Israel and offered to act as a mediator, according to US media reports. A working group was set up, and just under two weeks later Hamas released two American citizens. According to the New York Times, the USA saw this as proof of Qatari effectiveness and talks were intensified. A week ago, the Foreign Ministry in Doha then announced the agreement on a four-day ceasefire, which has already been extended by two days.

Qatar keeps all doors open

The role of mediator is part of the autocratic emirate's self-image. "Qatar hosts negotiations between conflicting parties and contributes to the dialog between them as a mediator," says the foreign ministry's website. In political practice, this means keeping as many doors open as possible. Qatar is one of the USA's most important allies in the Middle East. Around 10,000 US military personnel are stationed not far from the capital Doha, making it the largest US airbase in the region.

At the same time, Qatar shares the world's largest natural gas field with US arch-enemy Iran, and cooperation between the two countries is a prerequisite for highly profitable exploitation. Qatar was one of the first Arab states to establish diplomatic relations with Israel back in 1996. Official ties were severed in 2009, but unofficial channels remained in place.

The country also maintains good relations with Islamist organizations such as the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, leads an undisturbed life of luxury in Qatar, and the terrorist group has had an office in Doha since 2012. The Hamas presence provoked massive criticism after October 7, but it exists with the blessing of the USA, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen from Rice University in Texas told the US portal Vox. "It's better to have them in a friendly partner state like Qatar than in Afghanistan, Iran or Syria, for example, where they can't be reached by a third party in a crisis."

The Qatar-funded Arabic TV channel Al-Jazeera regularly offers Hamas spokespeople a platform. To this end, Qatar pumps large sums of money into the Gaza Strip, with a total of 1.5 billion US dollars said to have flowed so far. Doha emphasizes that the transfers are approved by Israel and benefit the civilian population and administration in Gaza. It is difficult to verify where the money actually ends up - it is not unlikely that the military arm of Hamas has also drawn on it.

Good contacts for its own security

From 2017, the laissez-faire approach to Islamist organizations plunged the desert state into a serious crisis. A coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of supporting terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. The result was an economic blockade that lasted until 2021 and hit the country hard. However, Qatar did not change its foreign policy guidelines. "Qatar believes that it needs the best possible relations with all its neighbors and regional players. Above all to secure its own existence," Guido Steinberg from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs told Die Zeit.

The boycott has shown how vulnerable Qatar can be. After all, the country is far from being a regional power. It has an area half the size of Hesse, and Qatari nationals make up only a fraction of its approximately three million inhabitants. The vast majority are migrant workers who live and toil in sometimes miserable conditions.

Oil and, above all, gas have brought the country considerable prosperity and made it a sought-after trading partner in the West. At the same time, the economy is heavily dependent on the energy sector. For this reason, the leadership in Doha is keen to expand its influence in other ways. "Qatar is trying to carve out a global role for itself," Gregory Gause of Texas A&M University told Vox.

"We saw that with the World Cup. We see that with al-Jazeera. We see this with all these mediation efforts, we see it with the Islamist strategy and we see it with the American airbase," Gause said. "This is all an attempt to make Qatar relevant and necessary so that no one says, 'Why do we need this little place?"

Mediation between Russia and Ukraine

However, Qatar has proven itself as a link between hostile parties in recent years. As recently as September, Doha mediated a prisoner exchange between Iran and the USA. After the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, Qatar supported the West in its evacuation flights. And Qatar is even involved in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Following Qatari mediation, Russia allowed the return of four abducted children to Ukraine in October.

Qatar has also acted as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, most recently in 2014. Its involvement in the current war seems not only consistent, but also without alternative. The emirate has a "monopoly" at the negotiating table, Andreas Krieg from King's College London told CNN. The country can talk to both sides "in a way that no other player in the world can". It is probably not inconvenient for Doha that international criticism of the situation of migrant workers or the rigorous Sharia legislation is drowned out by the general recognition of the diplomatic successes.

But the Hamas connections, of all things, show just how fine a line Qatar is walking. Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen accused Qatar of financing Hamas and harboring its leaders, despite mediation efforts. In the USA, Republican members of Congress have called on Doha to extradite Hamas leaders. Sooner or later, Qatar will probably have to distance itself from Hamas, according to security expert Krieg. But it cannot kick Hamas out. They would lose their contact, their monopoly, possibly to Iran. It remains a balancing act.

1. Despite the criticism towards Qatar due to its human rights situation and hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the successful mediation between Israel and Hamas during the Gaza war has significantly improved its international reputation.
2. In turn, the United States recognized Qatar's "important partnership" in the Israel-Hamas deal, with Israel's National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi praising Doha's "decisive" diplomatic efforts.
3. Qatar's ability to maintain good relations with various players, including Israel, Iran, and Hamas, demonstrates its strategic importance as a mediator in the Middle East conflicts.
4. The New York Times reporting mentioned that the US saw the successful mediation between Israel and Hamas by Qatar as proof of its effectiveness, which subsequently led to intensified talks.

Source: www.ntv.de