Qatar’s role as a Middle East mediator is unsettling, given its amicability with Iran and its hosting of Hamas’ political bureau. Gaza’s primary funder is generating concern in Western countries, the Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique opined on Friday.
Qatar promotes itself as a subtle, approachable agent capable of transmitting transparent, unadulterated communication when acting on behalf of its partners.
However, some regard the country as being overly invested in the current conflict and too compromised by its links to those forces labeled “terrorists” by several European countries.
The geopolitical strategy of the Qatari masterminds is simple: “Talk to everyone in order to make yourself indispensable,” stated the Belgian newspaper.
The media noted that Qatar’s favorable ties to Iran and its relationships with numerous Islamist movements with whom the West is no longer willing to communicate—notably the Taliban, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Muslim Brothers—pose a concern.
The West was only too pleased to shift its focus away from the Palestinian issue to that of Qatar, who is playing a role that the West does not condone.
According to Dorothée Schmid, it’s rather paradoxical to see the “international community”–a notion that has been largely lost in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict–relying on such a small state to secure the hostages’ release.
Given that Qatar openly said that Israel was “solely responsible” for the conflict, this inconsistency is all the more intriguing. Their predicament is further complicated by the fact that they frequently have to converse with an interlocutor whom they find uncomfortable and who constantly removes any obstacle to his regional agenda.
Serving as a mediator in a dispute that may turn into a regional war has benefits, but there are drawbacks as well. Nothing ensures that this mediation will be successful.
Israel, on the other hand, confines and circumscribes the negotiations, refusing any pause, but at least Qatar provides a glimmer of hope for a dialogue and a pathway out of the impasse.
Washington and Tel Aviv seek a moral victory as well as a more significant practical advantage: limiting the power of Al Jazeera, the media arm of Qatar. This goal, however, has not always been realized by those who have tried to go too far with that, concluded the article.